Journey Through Sherwood
by YLJedi
Summary: Will Scarlett holds an age old hatred burning within him for the man who ruined his life. But as he continues to live and fight alongside this enemy, could he find there is more to him than first suspected? Could he dare to believe in Robin of Locksley?
1. Chapter 1

The fight was raging. Staff meeting staff, the solid thumps were nearly drowned out by the jeers of the spectators. The noble was good, athletic, and learned fast. But John had chosen the staffs, and so naturally that was where he excelled. The art of fighting staff style lent itself to brute strength, and the 6'5 Goliath had plenty. Yet somehow the rich man was able to hold his own.

Until he plunged into the racing water, that is. Will cheered John on and laughed at the noble's futile efforts to get his medallion. The noble finally had been taught his lesson.

But evidently he hadn't learned it. The rich man swung at John once more with his staff, and the fight picked up again. The two duelers were heading downstream. Will hurried to a better vantage point. He wasn't going to miss the chance to see a noble get his thick skull smashed in a couple of inches. Or feet, Will thought as the noble plummeted down and disappeared into the river. The 18-year-old gave John a mock salute, when in the middle of John's lengthy victory speech, the noble's staff sent the outlaw tumbling into the swift- moving water.

Will frowned indisappointment as John yielded to the noble.. Yet even he managed to see the humor whenwhen the noble showed John that the water was 3-ft deep. But his amusement faded to the wind as the noble spoke his next words:

"I'm Robin of Locksley."

Blood rushed to his ears. All sound muted, drowned, all vision distorted, blinded, forgotten, all senses stripped until only blackness surrounded the edges of his eyesight. Every object in his field of vision disappeared, until the only thing surviving the murky void was the visage of the one man Will loathed more than any creature on God's green earth.

Robin of Locksley.

The journey back to camp was a haze for Will. His vision swam, he stumbled once, and would have fallen if not for a steady hand swiftly grabbing onto him.

"Easy there, friend."

He jerked himself out of the steady grip, and Will sidestepped to limit any additional contact. Locksley had already moved on himself, easily flowing back into the everlasting conversation provided by John.

As soon as they reached camp, Will flung himself into the lower lying branch of a nearby tree. He spoke never a word; he just listened in growing anger as Locksley recounted his woeful tale.

Finally the pretty boy ended his narrative, and started to ask about the outlaws. When he mentioned the ghosts stories the outlaws had perpetuated, Will couldn't help himself, quickly interjecting, "They've worked so far. Do you have a better idea?"

Locksley spoke quietly and calmly. "You can always fight back."

John loudly declared his disbelief. Will, however, remembered a fast-flying rumor about the Lord Locksley, and needing desperately to lash out at something, anything, he viciously spat, "What does a rich son of a devil worshipper care about a bunch of outlaw peasants—"

"My Lord was a kind and generous man. Who among you dare to believe—" Well, the old man had gotten riled up at least.

"My father was no devil worshipper, and I'll have words with any man who says otherwise." Locksley did not raise his voice, but there was a forceful note to them that proved to Will his words had stung the man. Good.

Locksley continued, "But he's right. I was a rich man's son. When I killed the sheriff's men, I became an outlaw… like you."

Pressure built up inside Will and a bitterness born of years of practice made him fling out into the night,. "You are nothing like us."

He actually stated it rather matter-of-factly, considering, as he walked strode away from the warm light of the fire and into the chilling darkness. Years of bottling his emotions and storing them far from any remote chance that they could get out kept most of the bitterness from appearing in his body or voice. He knew, that despite that, even the blind old man couldn't have missed the hatred that had seeped from him.

He had to leave this place. Now. He wasn't going to take stay another minute near that black-hearted liar. 'Like me,' rubbish! The furious strides whisked him farther from the camp that had been his home for almost a year now. There was no way. No way was he going to stay in the same forest as the man that had deliberately set out to crush any smidgeon of hopethat he could have a normal life. The strides increased their pounding wrath. He couldn't believe that out of all the nobles in all of England, it had to be Robin of Locksley that came waltzing into Sherwood.

Well, more like tripping into Sherwood, Will thought with a smirk. But the smirk quickly disappeared under another flood of rage.

The nerve of that brat! He's been here for less than half a day, and already he's criticizing us! 'Fight back,' easy for the man who never had to work for…anything in his life! Will's hectic tempo quickened, he took three angry, long, hurtling strides, and then he—

Tripped.

Will swore under his breath, and kicked the protruding rock that had impeded his path. He swore again, kicked, swore louder, and still louder. With the last curse came a mighty kick that sent the rock satisfactorily sailing into the air, and several dirt clods along with it.

The ferociously expelled energy winded Will. Gasping, he leaned against a tree, and slid tiredly to the ground. He stayed that way for several minutes, panting for every breath, and as he remained still, Will's undeniably **very** aggressive side managed to turn his reasoning (and destination) around.

Will had never been a very gracious loser, and even the very thought was a loathsome and vile act to the competitive spirit within him. He was definitely **not** going to let Robin of Locklsey beat him out of his friends and his home! Unlike Locksley, this was _all_ the home Will had left. Locksley had already beaten him out of too many things in this life, and Will was determined that no more would he just watch it happen without so much as a hint of rebellion. He was going to fight Locksley for this forest. He was going to beat Locksley for his friends. Though that would take a little more skill., Will knew. As he had been walking away, Will had overheard John's description of him. 'Piss and Wind.' It had confirmed the always nagging thought that he had never really been able to fit in with the other outlaws completely.

And there was Locksley, a man more than _three_ stations above all the others, fitting in as if he had been there all his life! Not any more. Not any more. Will was going to fight for it, and he was not going to lose.

Besides, Will snorted, it's not as though the rich brat would actually stay here. Once Locksley got a taste of what romping through the forests was really like, he wouldn't linger for long. It was a pleasant thought for Will in a day wrought with hatred and never-ending tension, and he was grateful for the reprieve as he turned and headed back towards camp. Locksley couldn't last a day in the harshness and brutality that was the Sherwood Forest. The rich boy didn't know how to. And the rich boy didn't have the courage to learn.

It was the most false thing Will Scarlett could have ever thought.

* * *

Hi, guys. This is the start of my first Robin Hood story, and so reviews will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Will awoke later than he usually did in the morning. _That Locksley's messing with everything, even my sleep_. He tore his way out of his primitive shelter and stood straight and tall with his arms above his head to stretch out his aching back. Outside, the make-shift camp was already bustling with the day's activities. Will stretched once more, long and good, before he headed over to get his meager breakfast.

"What do you mean, you don't know!"

The morning's breath-taking stillness was shattered by John's (Will refused to call him by the name coined by Locksley) booming shout.

Concerned, Will detoured over to where John and the Moor were having a heated discussion.

Azeem's heavy accent spilled forth with barely reined-in anger. "I tell you I don't know! I woke up this morning and he was gone!"

"Already packed up and fled, now did he?" Will's smooth, sarcastic voice startled both, and Azeem whirled to see who had intruded upon their conversation.

"No, Scarlett," John's eyes hardened, "but he did leave without telling anyone where he was going." He turned back to face the two newcomers, Azeem and Duncan. "And that's too dangerous. This forest is too vast that any one of us outlaws who knows this forest could easily be lost, and that doesn't bode well for Locksley. I wish to buggers I knew where he was headed."

Duncan in his feeble voice quietly chimed in, saying, "Master Robin did mention this morning in conversation about their being mass today in Nottingham. He seemed very interested."

Scarlett exaggeratedly showed his disapproval and rolled his eyes.

"The bloody fool."

Azeem eyed him interestedly, even as John began to spew. "Brillant. He's heading straight into the Sheriff's lair, and him just having killed two of the sheriff's men! The man's either got too much pluck for his own good, or he's off his rocker."

Azeem never dropped his stony gaze from Will, but now he started to talk in simple, soft tones, "You hold great anger towards the Robin of Locksley."

Will's dark eyes challenged the stranger before him. "Very keen observation there, _Moor_."

The dark man did not react to the insult at all. "I speak the truth then."

"Partly. I dislike Locksley, but no more so than any other _disgusting_ noble sickens me. You'll find all nobles are of the same lot as Nottingham and Gisbourne are." Will ended the conversation, steering it cleanly from the truth, and spun on his heel back to the campfire.

* * *

Late that afternoon, the thundering hooves easily preceded the return of the noble, who sat crouched low on a white horse. A white horse… 

Pure white. Rich bridle, classy saddle.

"You stole the Sheriff's horse." Locksley brushed past him and Scarlett trailed right on his heels, too angry to keep his distance.

"You've stirred up a bloody hornet's nest now."

"Are you afraid, John?" Robin retorted.

"Yeah, a little."

"Well, so is the sheriff, and today I gave him something he'll not forget."

"You fool! You've started a war!" Did the rich boy ever stop to think for one second between his games that there might be more people at risk than merely himself?

"We're already at war," he knelt beside Duncan, "And I say we strike back at the very man who takes our homes and hunts our children."

"We? You're planning to join us then, mate?"

"No, to lead you."

Scarlett started in shock.

* * *

Later that night, Will and a fellow outlaw, Giles Redwood, sat away from the fire to eat. 

"To lead us? The man' not just a fool, he's addled in his brain," Will gestured with his hand. His companion nodded in agreement.

"Our fight isn't his," Will thought aloud as he surreptitiously watched Robin, "and his fight sure isn't ours."

"He'll never go through with it." Giles said.

"Well, I for one think he will," Wulf, overhearing, haughtily stated as he walked past.

"Bully for you," Will whispered under his breath. They both snickered at the boy's expense.

* * *

"Hey!" 

"What are they doing here?"

"John!"

"What's happened!"

"Stephen!"

"Where is he!"

"What are they doing here!"

"Fanny!"

All the outlaws ran to swarm flooding into their hideout, rushing to greet their long-lost families.

Will ran to see why they were all there. He had no family, and that why he was surprised to see an old acquaintance within the crowd.

"Stephen!"

"Will, they've burned the village, all of it! Where is this Robin Hood?"

"He's there." The young man turned and pointed out where Locksley was sitting.

"Look, look what they've done!" Will's heart wrenched when he saw Stephen lift his son to show the mark that crossed his little boy's face. Will had only known Stephen slightly;Will had only been in the village a short time before he was outlawed. But he still remembered the striking, vibrant youth the child had been. And now he was branded forever because of Locksley's foolishness. Will stormed over to where Locksley sat on the fallen tree, resembling to Will a fat king on his undeserved throne.

"You brought this misery on us, Locksley."

"This is Nottingham, trying to divide us."

"We are divided, rich boy. I'm not as blind as that old man over there. You're still trying to be lord of the manor." Will heard the consenting murmurs, and at that moment he was distinctly aware of the crowd behind him. Now was his chance, to be rid of this pest once and for all. "I heard today that the sheriff now values your neck at five hundred goldpieces." Turning to the crowd, "I say we take him in!"

A collective yes ran through the crowd.

Robin tilted his head at him. "Will, do you think that the sheriff will give everything back after I'm gone?"

"They'll give us the reward and our pardons."

"Wrong. He'll stretch your necks one by one."

"Well, what will you have us do? Fight men on horsebacks with rocks and our bare hands?"

"If needs be," Robin stepped in close, forcing Will to gaze up at the taller man. "But there's one true weapon that escapes you, Will. Courage."

He swallowed hard, eyes flashing a rage so potent the air between Robin and Will almost crackled in its intensity. The outlaw unsheathed his dagger and quickly took aim at Robin's retreating back.

"Look out!"

The pain, raw and searing, ripped through him as the arrow pierced his palm. Will hunched down, cradling the hand embedded with Robin's arrow. Still in shock, his eyes flew to the perpetrator. Locksley met his gaze squarely, no hint of remorse in his body. Will felt the hundreds of eyes boring into him, and he swiftly tore off, still hunched over his injury.

He ran for the river, fiercely blinking back the instinctive tears that rushed to his eyes as the arrow brushed the overhanging branches in his path. None too soon, the sparkling water came into view around the bend. Will rushed to the edge of the bank and plunged his hand in. The soothing water eased the pain and gently washed away the blood. He pulled his hand out and awkwardly reached for the arrowhead. Will closed his eyes and snapped the tip off the arrow. The snap reverberated throughout the arrow, and his hand screamed its unhappiness. He wished desperately to put it back in the water, but Will knew if he did, he would never bring it back up. Closing his eyes once again, he gritted his teeth, and pulled.

"Aww!" Will yelped. The blood spurted afresh, and Will cringed in the agony that sliced through his palm. Back in the water he thrust it. He kept it under for several minutes, until the pain was at a somewhat more tolerable level. Tearing off a piece of his shirt, he awkwardly tied it around the open wound.

His hand was bandaged, but Will had no intention of returning to camp just yet. He couldn't understand what had just happened. Had he really almost knifed Locksley…in the back?

Throughout his life, Will had been very opinionated and headstrong. He had despised each and every form of cowardice and beggary he had ever seen. Even his mother, at times when she would allow herself to remember the past without bitterness, had thought that even though Will Scarlett had been ousted from the Locksley life, he had sure held onto the Locksley pride. And a part of that pride of his had been knowing that he was never and would never be a coward.

But now he couldn't say that anymore. He had just tried to murder someone in the back. He had _never_ done something so underhanded. Oh, sure, he had had his fair share of fights, but they had always been "clean" and "fair." He had never known he was capable of such ugliness. And it frightened him.

But Locksley had just made him so mad!

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Will Scarlett returned to the camp. By then, it was bustling with activity; everyone was geared up and excited after Robin's invigorating speech. The children were busy gathering all the sticks they could find, the men were starting to formulate plans on building a village in the trees, and the womenfolk were hustling about to prepare the meal. Robin, John, and Azeem were huddled together, clearly making the overall plans for this extravaganza. 

Scarlett stopped at the edge, unsure of where he should go or what he should do. He knew everyone would be uncomfortable with what had happened, and, judging by the activity and energy he was seeing, he knew he had lost another battle for the minds of the outlaws. Locksley had beaten him again.

He had two choices, really. Step gracefully back into this society as best he could, or simply turn around and sulk. Neither idea particularly appealed to him, and the first choice was even more limited by his hand. He couldn't help out very much, at least for a while, and that would definitely not help him increase his standing.

So he just stood there, at a complete loss for what to do.

That was when Azeem glanced his way, still in the midst of the lively discussion between Robin and John. The painted man reached under his outer robe and grasped a pouch that was tied around his belt.

Will was watching the activities on the other side of camp, and so he was startled when Azeem spoke right next to him.

"Here. This will help you with the pain." The Moor held out the pouch. Only on instinct did Will reach out and take it. Will gingerly opened the pouch with his wounded hand. Inside was an herb, grounded up into a soothing salve. Will knew without being told what a valuable commodity it was. He tried to form the words to show his gratitude, but glancing up, he saw Azeem had already headed back to his previous location with Robin and John.

"What did you just do?" Robin demanded when Azeem returned. He had watched the goings-on in the corner of his eye and was not pleased with what he saw.

"I gave the man a salve for his wound," he stated simply.

Robin sputtered for a second. "You pledged to protect me, then you leave me to fend for myself against six of the Sheriff's men, I was alone against John, and now you are helping the man who almost _killed_ me?"

"You insulted him, and he reacted. I do not think he truly meant to kill you, just to harm a little" Azeem answered.

"That makes me feel so much better, Azeem, thank you."

"He is not your enemy, unless you make him so." Azeem stated earnestly. True, Will had insulted him days before, but most of the camp had been wary of him, still was wary of him. The man just seemed angry and hurt, not an evil-minded killer. This made Azeem more sympathetic to the man who had indeed tried to kill Locksley than he otherwise would have normally been.

Robin didn't have a reply to this, and silently turned away, back to his work. They talked no more about it, but Robin did watch in increasing curiosity as Scarlett subtly joined his friend Stephen as he started building a temporary shelter for his family. Scarlett was limited by his hand greatly, and Robin knew he would have problems for a while, if not forever. Those wounds just didn't heal well.

Robin's interest was piqued by Azeem's words. Scarlett had been attacking him since the moment Robin had set foot in the forest. How could he not be his enemy? But, nevertheless, Robin had committed himself to being the leader of this band of outlaws. And as a leader, Robin knew he had to set the example for his men and take the high road. He would not make Scarlett his enemy; in fact he would try to befriend the hostile and peculiar young man. He would start tomorrow.

* * *

There's chapter two, and thank you so much for all of those who reviewed!

Shadow929--Thanks for being my first reviewer. Hopefully you will like this chapter and review again!

Skrblr-- That's not a sin. I had never seen Prince of Thieves until last year myself. I have always been partial to the Errol Flynn version myself, since that was the first one I've ever seen. But Prince of Thieves has a good story with Will Scarlett, and needless to say, I like him. Thank you for the comments on my writing, I need to be critiqued, and I thank you for taking the time to help me out like that.

Mazo-Dono--Thank you very much for your kind words. I hope you will enjoy this chapter.

Arica, Princess of Rivendale—Your wish is my command.

Thank you everybody for reading, please review, and have a great day!

Oh, by the way, in case anyone's wondering, there won't be too much dialogue taken straight from the movie now. I just had to get that out of the way because this is where Scarlett first makes a big appearance in the movie and it's apretty important part!


	3. Chapter 3

No doubt, the women were a priceless addition to the camp. Men always boasted about their accomplishments doing the important tasks and activities, but if ever there was a skill so scorned and disparaged but yet so vital, it was the intricately fine art of cooking. Never before had Robin looked forward to a meal more than the first morning the women took command of the job.

Robin gratefully took two of the wooden plates, and thanked the woman who had served him. He made his way back to his shelter to bring Duncan his food, anxious for his own. It had been a long time since he had had even semi-good cooking, and even though the meal was _very_ simple, it smelled pretty darn appetizing.

_There he was._ Walking with the same purposeful, angry stride he seemed to always use. Robin had been watching Scarlett ever since Azeem's lecture, and he had noticed how unusually Scarlett moved. The peculiar young man never strolled, never slowed, never relented, as if he was daring life to try to divert him from his destination. So of course, Robin stepped into his path.

Will faltered, losing his focus momentarily as the self-elected leader of Sherwood blockaded him from reaching the fire and incidentally the food. The young man squared his jaw, halting just a few feet away from Locksley, his brown eyes taunting the taller man. His message was all too clear: _**"Leave me alone."**_

_He's not my enemy, he's not my enemy,_ Robin whispered over and over to himself as the brat's wordless taunts reignited his earlier anger. Striving for calmness, he gestured at his crude plate then waved over to the fire. "The ladies have fixed us a truly spectacular feast this morning."

"Naturally. They wouldn't dare serve anything less than brilliant this morning, afraid they'llhave their heads chopped off for failing to please the great noble and knight of Locksley." Will fluttered his arm about theatrically, and finished with a sweeping bow. Will smirked, andquickly brushed past his enemy.

Seething, Locksley stormed after him. With one arm, he viciously shoved the younger man. "What in blazes is your problem, Will Scarlett?"

"Leave me alone, Locksley," Will warned.

"Leave you alone? If I'm not mistaken, you _were_ the one trying to kill me last night!"

"And?"

"And if I'm going to allow you to stay, you better make sure you obey what I tell you from now on and help get some work done building this village!"

"Allow me to stay? I was here before you Locksley."

"I am the leader of this outfit now."

"Self-proclaimed," Will spat the words at him.

"With the approval of every one in this camp, except for you."

Will paused for a second, making sure that the older man would hear his next words. "These are good people, Locksley, and you're only using them to satisfy your own personal vendetta!"

Locksley swept his gaze to the sky in exasperation. "I'm trying to help these people. I'm helping them get back what the Sheriff of Notthingham has pillaged from them!"

"Empty promises, Locksley. The evil Sheriff can pander to a crowd just as easily as you can." Will circled around the noble. "One day, all that you have set in motion will catch up with you, and then you'll turn and run. You'll turn and run." He earnestly repeated as Locksley shook his head to deny it.

Will started backing up a few steps, never losing eye contact with the noble. "And I'll be there to see it." He spun on his heel leaving Locksley staring angrily after him.

Azeem, standing outside his shelter the entire time of the confrontation, ambled up alongside Robin. "Well done, Christian."

* * *

Three days later, a coronation of sorts was set to take place, a coronation for the beginnings of what was soon to be a spectacular village in the trees. A few miles from the hidden camp, a monstrous oak had been selected for the ceremony. It was to be chopped down, with the help of all the men of Sherwood, and hauled back to camp, where it would be put to use for all winter. Houses, look-out posts, walkways, firewood, bows, and arrows had to be made ready for every person in Sherwood if they were going to stand a chance against Nottingham. 

The celebration was a break from all the back-breaking work they had been busy nonstop with since Locksley had built them into a frenzy. Make no mistake, though, this was not just a relaxing afternoon. Oh no, for the chopping down of the huge tree took strength and skill, and every man who put his hand to the axe was determined to show himself the strongest.

"Well, let's get to it, men," John picked up the two axes that were to be used and carefully tossed one over to Locksley; they were going to begin the fun. John swung first, a hard mighty blow that sliced clean into the tree. Robin was right behind, digging in close to John's mark. John swung again, and Robin once more, before they handed their axes off to the next pair of outlaws. Four blows later, the axes were once again handed off, and with four more blows, Will was handed one axe and Stephen grabbed the other. Stephen had tried hard to convince Will not to take part of the chopping. While his hand was better, Stephen had said, Will would not be able to keep up with the others and would risk injuring it more, possibly for life. But the injured youth had stubbornly refused to heed any and all such advice, and with a hearty grin to Stephen, Will lifted his axe and swung down.

_Whack!_ Will was rewarded with a slice in the tree just as big as the others. Stephen's followed in quick succession, and all too soon they had to release the fun tools to some others.

"Well," he said expectantly, smirking triumphantly as he did so.

"You're still a fool if you ask me." Stephen smiled back.

Many more outlaws took their turns at the tree, and then people started repeating their turns. Stephen took the axe again, alongside Bull this time. Stephen finished the last blow and tossed the handle to Will.

Will stepped forward, and as he did so, Robin of Locksley advanced with the axe Bull had handed to him. There was the briefest moment of silence that worked its way almost magically through the entire congregation standing around. The silence held for an instant, and then Robin pulled back his axe and swung down firmly.

_Whack!_ Will pulled his axe up and swung down just as, no, even harder than Locksley.

_Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!_

The outlaws shifted, perplexed; it was past time for the two to end their session, but neither one was relinquishing his axe. The outlaws glanced at each other, and each one at that moment suddenly understood that a battle had begun.

**"Come on, Robin!"** John yelled at the top of his lungs.

**"Get it done, Will!"** Stephen cheered in support of his friend.

**"Swing it hard, come on now!"** All were cheering now, some for Robin, some for Will, most just egging on the contest, with no favorite in particular. The noise was deafening, but exhilarating to both men.

_Whack! Whack!_

Scarlett pulled the axe back, his arms extended to their fullest, every muscle in his body shifting with exertion as he sharply swerved the direction of the blade and it fell with a satisfying thud into the wood.

Locksley mirrored every movement, the axe almost an extension of his body; he threw his weight into it, dug the axe into the tree, and instantly jerked it out, Scarlett right on his heels.

Will grimaced slightly as the minor shocks from the tree ran up the axe and stung his wounded hand. He pushed the pain away and quickly dug his blade out of the tree. Locksley swung his axe right behind him, but he glanced at Will as he did so, a question evident in his eyes. No matter the competitiveness between the two, Robin's conscience would not let him take advantage of an injured man, even if it was his fiercest opponent in the camp.

Will's hazel eyes met Robin's worried ones, and he paused in his work to give him a sardonic smile.

"Tired already, Locksley?" he quietly scoffed, grabbing his axe with his injured hand and with all his might pounding the blade into the tree.

"Only of your sarcasm," Locksley huffed as he flew down with his own axe, "which I bet is used to disguise fatigue of your own." The roar of the crowd magnified double at this thrust and parry from the rivals.

With crushing force Will threw the his axe into and out of the tree, Robin hurled his in and out, and suddenly their rhythm became quicker, better, faster than ever before. In, out, in, out, in, out, in.

Ferociously they hacked away, wood chips flying around with every slice, creating a swirling, translucent dust storm around the two duelers. The strengths of each one was vividly apparent. Locksley had the muscle; Will, the determination. Each one powerfully chiseled their axes into the tree. Relentless, each one pounded and pounded and pounded their way deeper into the trunk.

_Whack! Whack! Whack!_

The tree was barely holding on now, the splintering of the wood could be heard. Scarlett and Locksley attacked the remaining wood mercilessly, a surge of adrenaline pumping through each man as they neared victory. The outlaws scurried away, shooing the women and children off to relative safety should something horrible happen once the tree fell. Robin slashed his axe in with all his might. The tree was teetering. One more cut. Will pulled back, slammed the blade forward, slicing clean, deep, and completely through the tree.

"Go!" Robin shouted. They both sprinted back and away from the falling tree, in order to avoid the trunk's "kick" as it careened down and crashed to the ground.

A resounding cheer reverberated throughout the forest. "Yeaaa!"

Several yards away and parallel to each other, Will and Robin were panting with exhaustion, both slightly angled towards the other. Breathlessly, Robin met the other's gaze, and, as if in acceptance of something he had not known before, henodded respectfully. Will, after a moment's hesitation, bowed his head also, each acknowledging the other's stamina and toughness in the grueling fight, before they both headed off (each alone) to join the rest of the outlaws. It was a victory for both; they had each personally endured the contest and felled the gigantic oak.

Will shifted his axe from his right hand to his left, and was startled by the stickiness on the handle. Taking hold of the handle and the blade for a closer inspection, he glanced at his right hand, and saw the blood stained rag. Will gave a brief bark of laughter; he couldn't believe he hadn't felt his hand bleeding. He had felt the slight aching pain, but had easily pushed that out of his mind during the "fight.". He smiled to himself, joining his friend alongStephen'sright side, to keep the hand away from his viewing; he didn't want an I-told-you-so just yet. He was too satisfied right now; he had just proven to Locksley that he was tougher than the rich boy had first imagined.

* * *

"Will Scarlett, get over here." 

"No, come on now, leave me alone."

"Will Scarlett," Fanny spoke in the threatening tones she only reserved for her naughty children.

"Come on, Fanny," Will laughed, "it's perfectly fine. I can take care of it."

Fanny kept a tight grip on his arm, and half marched/half dragged the protesting youth over to her home. Will kept up his protests, but they were hard to understand since he was laughing the entier time as he was forced to follow the stubborn woman.

"Here we are now," Fanny said happily as she made Will sit down. Bringing a basin of water over, she sat down and took hold of his hand.Untying the rag, shegingerly pulled it away from the sticky wound. "Blimey," she muttered as she cleaned away the blood, "you are a fool, Will Scarlett."

"Yes ma'am," he agreed, smiling.

He had always adored Fanny. Ever since he had first arrived in her village, she had taken him under his wing. Perhaps it was just friendliness that made her look after him, or perhaps she saw the raw hurt that had (and still) radiated from the boy, and her mothering nature instinctively reached out, aching to protect and heal him. Whatever the reason, shehad befriended him from the first, and Will was secretly grateful. Shewas always pestering and lecturing him as she did her own children, and Will would always tease her mercilessly, neither taking any of it seriously. In fact, Will yearned for her lectures and pestering, yearned for that mothering quality about her that his own mother had never acquired, never cared to learn.

"Oww," Will seethed as Fanny worked an ointment into his hand. "You do love to torment, Fanny, couldn't you have at least warned me?"

"Serves you right, you little stubborn fool, going out there and chopping the day away, as if you were as healthy and strong as a knight." She got up and went to get a fresh rag.

"Now, we'll have a look-out post here, and maybe one over there."

"How will they get word down below if they spot trouble? John's voice asked.

"Well, they should be able to spot the enemy far enough away so that they can shout down. But I suppose they can also shoot an arrow down to the center of camp. We also need to get these men learning archery and Azeem should teach them swords." Locksley voice grew fainter as the men walked on by.

"That Locksley, he's almost as stubborn a fool as you, he works way too hard, but, bless my soul, how he has changed this camp around." Fanny took Will's hand again, and gently wrapped the rag around it.

Will scowled. "The rich boy _is_ a fool. He honestly thinks he can lead these farmers to victory against Nottingham's fully trained knights." The exasperation crept into his voice.

"Now, hush you Will Scarlett. Robin o' Locksley has been right good to us since he came here, and he's doing a good job with this camp. I will not allow you to go bad-mouthing him."

"Fanny," Will began.

"No, Scarlett. Robin is the kindest soul I've ever met. A man like him, leaving all he knows to come and help us fight for our rights."

"Exactly." Will cut in, adamant. "A noble, helping out the poorest of all the riffraff in England? Surely you don't believe it.Oh, sure, he'll begin this project and get everyone believing it can be done, but he won't finish it. He doesn't have the guts to finish something he didn't think would be such hard and dirty work. Nobles can't stand anything that gets their hands dirtied." Will spoke with an angry vehemence Fanny had never seen.

"Now, Will—"

"When are you going to learn, Fanny, rich boys don't have the courage or the endurance it takes to survive out here without all their every-day luxuries."

Fanny tied the ends of the rag tightly around the back of Will's hand. Not looking up, she mischievously remarked, "I thought I spotted some endurance on Locksley's part just a while ago, if my memory serves correctly." She looked up at Scarlett, and grinned.

A reluctant smile broke out, and Will turned his head away as a shy blush colored his cheeks. "Oh, all right, I'll give you that." Fanny laughed aloud at Will's discomfort.

"There you are, Will Scarlett, now get out of here," she commanded.


	4. Chapter 4

"Swords up. Now, fight." Azeem ordered. On cue, four pairs swung into action, their shiny blades smacking the others, as each tried to perfect their skills and beat their opponent. Azeem walked on the outskirts, observing each man, and offering advice where needed.

"Scarlett," he interrupted the fight, as he watched Will try to attempt the newest maneuver Azeem had just taught. "You have to lunge extremely quick, in and out, otherwise you are vulnerable to an attack yourself."

Azeem took his own blade out and took the place of Will's partner. The two hit twice, and then Azeem lunged in with his sword, just barely brushing Will's side. "That is how it is done. Come on then."

Will brought his own blade up, he and Azeem parried several blows, and then Will lunged in—and Azeem knocked his sword aside and brought his own alongside Will's.

"Quick, it has to be quick."

"I was trying to be quick." Will groused.

"Well, try harder."

They fought again, Will lunged faster, but was still evaded by Azeem, though Azeem couldn't attack him this time.

"Again."

Scarlett rolled his eyes, but nodded agreement. The first blows were quicker than before, and then he lunged in, brushing Azeem's side as the painted man twisted to avoid the mock blow.

"Good," Azeem laughed. "That is how it is done." He returned the stick he had taken from Will's former partner, and gestured for them to continue.

Scarlett took to it pretty well, Azeem thought as Will took the defensive now, allowing his fellow outlaw to learn the technique also. He had good form, and worked ferociously to master the skills Azeem taught. The painted man laughed silently to himself. It seemed he did everything ferociously, thinking about the contest between Robin and Will days ago.

The camp had buzzed several days after, everyone engrossed by the rivalry, as they seemed to think it was. But after a while, it became apparent that this wasn't a rivalry at all, but a one-sided hatred that flowed nonstop for Scarlett. For Robin's part, he had given in to Azeem's lecturing, and had tried, unsuccessfully, to strike a truce between the two of them. But every single time he was rebuffed, and it seemed with every attempt, the man's loathing of Robin increased tenfold. And Robin had his pride, too, and after several rebuffs, he had angrily quit trying, remarking to Azeem that he wasn't going to grovel anymore to that strange, ill-tempered little brat.

_But the odd thing_, Azeem reflected, _is_ _that Will is perfectly at ease with me!_ One would think that if you hate a man that much, you would include in that hatred his right hand man, his sworn protector. But that wasn't the case. Scarlett hadn't said one cruel word to Azeem since the first day in camp. Will had actually been very friendly to him, and Azeem couldn't help but like the outlaw. It was a precarious position, being between two such bitter adversaries, but the painted man was so far pulling it off. And Will had never tried to flaunt his new friendship with Azeem in front of Robin. It seemed that whatever the hatred Will had for the noble, he was going to keep it strictly between himself and Locksley.

_Christian is right about one thing,_ Azeem thought to himself, _that Scarlett is indeed a strange man._

"Hey, everybody, gather 'round!" Little John's voice boomed. Azeem turned to see John and Robin purposefully striding out of John's hut.

Will reluctantly left the practice session and headed over to where the entire camp was gathering around Locksley.

"You all have done a wonderful job here," Robin was saying, as Will quietly pushed his way into the throng, "and so tomorrow we begin the crusade against Nottingham!" The resulting cheers forced Robin to stop talking and, grinning, he waited for it to settle down. "We'll leave at dawn, and stake out the road running through Sherwood."

He went on to explain the specific details in the raid, then he told the crowd that he would pick a small group for this first time. Robin looked around at the anxious crowd, his eyes roving to and fro, and then he grinned and spoke in loud clear tones—

"Bull!"

"Wulf!"

"Much!"

"James!"

"Giles!"

"Allan!"

"Peter!"

"Oh," Robin turned to the now familiar burr in his side, "and of course, Azeem."

"I would have gone anyway."

"Yes, I know." Robin turned to address the crowd once more. "All right, men, be ready to leave right at dawn."

"Did you hear, Will? I got picked to go on the first raid!" Giles clapped the other man on the shoulder.

"Good job," Will stumbled over his reply, trying hard to feel happy for his friend. Inside, though, he was disappointed. The first bit of excitement was finally going to happen, and he had to miss it.

"I still can't believe it. He chose me! Me! I, Giles Redwood, will go on the first ever raid against Nottingham!" He tore off in his excitement, eager to share the news, though everyone had heard the second his name was called.

Scarlett shrugged it off as he walked back to the practice area. He might as well perfect some of his techniques. There would be other raids.

* * *

"They're back!" Fanny yelled as she ran to where the figures were racing through the trees. _There's Wulf._ _Where is he? Where is he, where, there he was!_ John ran to her and swung her mightily in the air.

"John, how was it?"

"Did you get anything?" others asked.

"Come on, let's see it then!"

Robin grinned as he looked around at the men that had accompanied him. "Shall we show them?"

"**Yes!"** the camp roared back.

Robin took a small bag, undid the purse strings, and poured out gleaming gold coins.

Triumphant cheers rang through the crowd as the men threw down coins and a few tossed some jewelry amidst the heap.

"A woman and her courtier were out riding," Much sneered, and then he deepened his voice theatrically, "and two fat old men who foolishly thought that they could still ride like the wind."

"Robin showed them, though" Wulf interjected in the story. "Robin jumped on the Sheriff's horse, rode after them, and pulled both of the fat cronies to the ground. You should have seen their faces!" He made them all laugh as he did some, rather bad, imitations.

"Will, it was incredible!" Giles exclaimed later that night. "Look at that treasure. And that was only today. If we keep doing this every day, why, we'll be rich!"

"Yeah," Will muttered despondently, not really listening. They were gathered around a fire along with Stephen, his wife, and his son. The celebration had been wild, and had gone on late into the night. Now, everybody was back in their homes, though some were still huddled around a few campfires, reliving the day's events and what this meant for the future. Will was lying on his side, absentmindedly throwing pieces of grass and dirt into the fire as he listened to Giles' tale.

"Tell us again," Noah eagerly leaned forward, listening to Giles from across the fire.

Will looked up in surprise. He didn't understand this eagerness on Noah's part. Several years younger than even Wulf, the child would now and forever bear the heavy scar that crossed the left side of his face. Will didn't know the full details that surrounded the mark, he didn't feel comfortable asking, but he did know that it was the result of the Sheriff's thugs when they burned the village. And that was Locksley's fault. Wasn't it? Without his gallivanting around and stirring up unnecessary trouble, the Sheriff's men would have never come around.

So why was the kid now so eager to hear about Robin's exploits? Had he gotten sucked into Locksley's tall tales along with Giles and the rest?

"And then, the way Robin just tore off after those two codgers, pushed them onto the ground, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there. I don't think those two doddering old fools believed it either, they kept staring at each other and rubbing their backsides, and all the time Robin's just looking down grinning at them. I tell you, the whole day he was just—"

"Will you shut _up_ about Locklsey?" He was tired of hearing the same story over and over and over.

"Will, I was just telling about—"

"Giles! I don't care. All right? I don't want to hear another word." Will moodily turned away, picking at dirt and throwing a few specks into the fire.

The burly man who had been Scarlett's closest companion, which in truth wasn't all that close, decided that he should try and help his friend see the truth that was obvious to the whole camp, and was starting to become to him as well.

"Will, he is not that bad of a guy once you get to know him."

"Oh, and you know him, do you?" Will shot back, anger lacing his voice. "You've been out in woods with him for what, one _day_, and now you know _exactly_ what kind of a person he is?"

Giles wasn't quite as quick to anger as Scarlett, but lately it seemed Scarlett knew how to rub everyone the wrong way. Testily he replied, "Well, I have been with him for a full day, talking and fighting alongside him, and that's a lot more than you can say. You have hardly said three words to him on any given day since he's been here."

"And your point is…"

"My point is that I'm a lot better judge than you of what kind of a man Locksley is."

"So what kind of a man is he?" Will cocked his head to the side, arms crossed, mockery evident in every move.

Giles rose to his feet. He wouldn't be insulted like this. He stormed away from the fire then paused, and turning back, he gave Will his answer.

"A better man than you."

* * *

The next day dawned, and with it the hopes of every outlaw. Once again, Robin was going to go stake out Sherwood road, and he had to pick his men.

"Hal!"

"Kneelock!"

"Stephen!"

"Alfred!"

Many names were called this time, it seemed already Locksley was going to start chasing after big game, Scarlett sneered. Or maybe he just wanted a big crowd around to watch him do _another_ amazing feat. Whatever the reason, Robin had just chosen dozens to accompany him for some more excitement, and Will was not among them.

* * *

"You, Danny," Robin walked amongst the crowd. He gestured to Danny's right. "And you two."

Locksley walked over to Bull, and ironically enough, his friend, Ox. "And you two again. You did good last time, Ox."

"Thank you, sire," Ox gushed, which he quickly amended to, "I mean, thank you, Robin."

The leader nodded absentmindedly as he searched the faces crowded around. A few yards away, deep into the crowd, Will stood watching. The noble called more and more people out to go on, now the fourth, thieving expedition. He had just called out another name, when, turning around, his eyes met those of Scarlett's.

Robin tilted his head to the side, clearly deciding. He slowly worked his way through the crowd, calling out several other names. And then he was in front of the younger man. Robin studied him for a second. Will held his gaze squarely, pride etched in every muscle and bone in his body. He wouldn't let himself even look as if he cared about going on this stake-out. No matter how much he wanted a change from all this monotony, if Robin thought he would beg, he had another thing coming.

Robin seemed satisfied with what he saw. He opened his mouth; Will instinctively drew in a breath—

"How about you, Thomas of Bretford," Robin looked to the outlaw on Will's right, clapping him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "I hear you're pretty good with a sword. We'll probably need that skill today."

Surprised, Thomas could barely stutter a "thank you, sir." Robin didn't correct him. He passed by Scarlett, who stood ramrod straight, only his eyes revealing the animosity that lurked just beyond the fought-for self control. Robin walked on, but his mouth had the faint lift of a smirk as he did so.

Azeem was quickly on Robin's heels after the choosing, and asked heatedly, "You're not going to even give him a chance?"

"No."

* * *

A full week went by since that day, and Will had grown to accept he would not be chosen to go on the raids. It wasn't easy; anger always needed an outlet, and with every brush-off, his anger increased. The forced inactivity nearly drove him crazy, though it did help him perfect his swordsmanship a good deal. But just practicing swords couldn't assuage all his restlessness, and so he had to find another activity. He found it in the child christened Noah.

"Aww, you got me," Will cried as he fell to the ground, Noah's stick embedded under his arm.

"Ha ha, you heathen. That'll teach you to mess with an English knight." Noah triumphantly placed his foot on the "heathen's" chest.

"All right, all right, I surrender." Will laughed, reaching out for help to get up. As the kid's hand grabbed his, Will jerked back, pulling the boy to the ground.

"Hey, no fair! You're supposed to be dead!" Noah protested.

"War's not fair, sonny. Didn't you know that?" Will playfully wrestled the youngster. For the past few days, Will had been playing a big brother role to the boy, running around with him and playing all sorts of games. Noah was having trouble fitting back in with the other children. The other children weren't mean at all, but the little boy imagined he saw how much they disliked him because of his scar. Will knew that reality was the boys all thought him cool for having fought a real knight, and the girls thought him dashing, but were too shy to admit it. But you couldn't tell a kid to get his confidence back. You had to help build it back for him. And Scarlett was determined to help him get back what one little old pansy had taken away.

Easily he took hold of the boy's wrists with one hand, and with the other he hefted some mud, a result from the night's long drizzle, and dumped it on the kid's head.

Noah shook his head furiously, trying to get rid of the mud, but only succeeded in dripping it down his face. Will let go of his hands, and he eagerly scooped up his own mud, but laughing so hard, he managed to miss Will's face completely, hitting him in the shoulder.

"We need to work on you aim, sonny."

"Noah, I need your help." Stephen's wife sung out.

"He'll be right there," Will yelled back. Noah took that opportunity to grab a huge scoop of mud and completely plop it all over Will's face.

"Hey," Scarlett sputtered, spitting out the mud that had gotten into his open mouth. "Okay, you little devil, go help your mother."

"That child has certainly changed from the shy boy I first met." Azeem commented after the boy had scampered off.

Scarlett turned in surprise. Rising, he wiped a hand over his mud-splattered face, then wiped his hand off on his pants. "That child had just gotten clubbed in the face when you first met him. That's enough to change anybody. But he's gotten over it."

"Because of you."

"Because he's tough." Will changed the subject. "Did you want something?"

"No, I came to tell you something." He waited until he had Scarlett's full attention. "You're going tomorrow."

Will actually took a step back in surprise. He knew what Azeem was alluding to, the stake-outs, the excitement. "You're serious? But, why would Locksley change his mind like that?"

In the accompanying silence, he nodded knowingly, favoring Azeem with a sly grin. "Locksley _didn't_ change his mind, did he?"

"Get some good sleep tonight. We leave early, and you will need all the rest you can get."

Azeem walked away, back to what he had been doing. "When are you going to tell him?" Will called after him.

"Just before we leave," Azeem answered without turning around.

Will snorted silently to himself. Grabbing his sword, he headed off for some additional practice. He shook his head as he glanced again at Azeem's retreating form. Tomorrow would be a fun day. And, _oh_, how Locksley would be _mad_!

That cheerful thought brought a satisfied grin to Will's face.


	5. Chapter 5

"You did what!"

Azeem raised his eyebrows, and repeated what he had just told Locksley. "I told Will Scarlett he could go with us today."

Robin opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "Azeem, you are forgetting yourself. I did not you give you any authority to go pick people behind my back!"

Azeem was nonplussed. "He will be a great asset; he's good with a sword."

"He hates me!"

"And you're brushing him off like this is not helping matters, is it?" Azeem questioned philosophically.

"He's not going."

* * *

"You all set, Scarlett?"

"Just waiting for somebody to come by."

"Don't worry; they will soon enough." Azeem squatted down next to Will, the bushes and trees completely concealing them from the main road. "When something does come down this road, let the archers handle it first, then you and I will jump, more to just show protection and strength usually than out of any real need. The soldiers in this country are laughable."

"Psst, Azeem, something's coming!" one of the archers in the trees whispered urgently.

Immediately the two swordsmen tensed, grasping their weapons tightly. The clip-clop-clip-clop quickly reached their ears. Anticipation flooded Will's gut.

The clip-clop became louder, and then a lone rider came into view. The whole band as one sucked in their breath as they watched him come closer, closer, a little bit closer.

"Now," Locksley hissed. Four outlaws from the trees drew back their bows. The arrows hit in front of the rider, startling the horse which reared up on its legs.

"Go!" Azeem yelled at Will. Will responded instantly and jumped out from his hiding spot and into the road, sword out. Quickly, the others stripped the man of anything valuable, threw a few insults at him, and then gestured for him to depart. He watched in amazement. "You're kidding me! That's all there is to it? We didn't do anything!"

"Push your eyes back into your head, Scarlett. We'll see more action today. This was a lone rider, it would be sad if he _did_ give us some action."

* * *

_Well, that was exciting,_ Will thought after the third passerby since morning, and it was already midday. _Jump out, they handle it, jump back in. I get more exercise playing with Noah._

* * *

A carriage was plodding down the road. Will glanced up at the trees; he hadn't been told what to do when a carriage came, and Azeem had gone off with Locksley. But it looked like the others knew what to do. He settled down into his hiding place.

Quicker than normal, the arrows flew through the air before the carriage had barely made it down the road. One of the horses reared as far as it could go with the harness strapped to him, startling the lackadaisical driver out of his stupor. Quick as a flash, he whacked the reins smartly and the horses tore off.

The outlaws desperately launched more arrows, but none stopped the coach as it sped along, and understandably all were reluctant to just kill an innocent civilian. If it had been one of the Sheriff's men it would have been a different story, but it wasn't, and they didn't, and so all the outlaws could do was watch helplessly as their quarry fled from their grasp.

Instantly, he soared into flight. Jumping out of his hiding spot, Will sped away from the action taking place, flying as fast as his legs could carry him.

"What is he doing?" Robin muttered. "Already running away?"

"Give him a chance," Azeem rebuked.

The horses thundered toward him, easily catching and overtaking the young outlaw. The horses sped by, first the necks, the forelegs, body, now the hind legs. Will leapt with all his might, frantically grabbing the side of the coach.

"Aaah," Will grimaced as his newly healed hand dug into the siding. He swung his legs around and kicked the man in the head. Grabbing the reins, he pushed the man off and onto the dusty Sherwood floor. He slowed the horses, leapt down and unsheathed his sword all in one moment. Wrenching open the door, he poised himself for a last-ditch attack from the inside.

"Mommy!"

The little child screamed, leaping back to her mother. The mother's arms automatically wrapped around the young girl, but her eyes never shifted from Will, who froze, his sword halfway into the carriage.

"Hey, good job Will!" The other outlaws swarmed down the road, all very thankful that their quarry hadn't escaped. Several climbed atop the carriage, and gleefully tossed the items to the outstretched arms of those waiting below.

"What do you want?" her voice demanded. A thud from atop the carriage made her flinch. "Sir, I do not know what it is you want, but don't you dare hurt my child!"

Scarlett was appalled at this accusation. "Ma'am, I would never hurt a child." At her disbelieving look, Will hastened to justify his actions. "We are just collecting taxes for passage through Sherwood."

"Well we have nothing to give," she spat back quickly.

"You can stand down now, Will. I don't think these ladies will give us much trouble." Robin said lightly, finally intervening. Only when Robin wrapped his hand around his wrist did Will realize his sword was still poised inside the coach, a scant few inches from the woman's hardened gaze.

"M'lady," Robin continued, gently gliding in front of the younger outlaw, "each person who travels through Sherwood must pay a tax." _Now where have I heard that before? _he thought to himself.

"As I said to your partner," the woman nodded her head to Will's direction, "we have nothing to give."

Robin's mouth twitched as the lady's words brought memories of his own tax fiasco to mind. "Ma'am, we will just take several items of value to us, and then you will be on your way home."

"You think it's that simple, don't you Robin of Locksley? Don't look so surprised, your name is known for miles around. I just never thought you would stoop so low as to steal from a child."

"You don't look like a child to me, lady," Will remarked. Several snickers followed this observation.

"Quiet down." Robin commanded. "M'lady, if you have heard of me, then you undoubtedly have heard of our reasons for these thefts. We fight _for_ the children, the children who had everything stolen from them by the Sheriff of Nottingham, and these taxes help give them a future."

The lady's mouth twitched, and for a moment her brown eyes sparkled with mirth. "It's very simple then; you should be giving me some money."

"Excuse me?"

"Three months ago my husband died. I've been fighting off the Sheriff for all these months and I lost. The Sheriff seized all my lands and possessions and now all that my daughter owns is on this carriage. You should be giving her some of the taxes. Instead you steal all she owns. Good work."

There was silence. Every outlaw's head was down, staring at the ground, stung by the harsh criticism of the mother. Will shook his head as he watched the transformation of the outlaws. _She can really work a crowd._

"Put the lady's belongings back on. Now!" Robin snapped, and his followers scurried to do his bidding, only too happy to ease their guilt. The lady turned away from them to comfort her daughter, who was still clinging tight to her and whimpering.

"Are you kidding me?" Will protested. "We're giving it all back?" _I did all that work for nothing?_

"Did you hear what she said?" Giles asked incredulously from his perch on the roof of the coach.

"And you believe that? She could be lying, for goodness sake! Just hoping that someone would fall for it."

"Either way, we are not going to steal from children." Locksley was adamant on this point as he handed up one of the travel bags that had been thrown off.

"We're to be thieves with _morals_, then?"

"Exactly." Robin flashed a smile, then turned to the lady. "Have a good journey, ma'am, you are free to go."

"Say Robin, I don't think this man can handle driving a team." John was walking towards them, supporting the driver with his burly arms. The driver was wobbling, his feet not seeming able to support his weight. The right side of his face was already bruising from Will's first kick (Will grinned despite himself when he saw that), and a dazed expression completed the image.

"Oh Nigel," the woman sighed. "Put him in here with us." Little John obliged, and the noble took to fussing over her driver.

"Someone will have to drive the lady to her home," John spoke to Robin.

"Any volunteers?" Robin looked around. Somehow Will knew what was coming before he even turned to face him. "What about you, Scarlett? You stopped the coach," here there was a little bit of respect in the leader's voice, "do you want to help the lady to her home?"

"And where would that be? She just said that the Sheriff took her land. Where would she be going?" Will could see the expressions change on the faces of those around as they took in his words and realized he had a point. _The lady might not be telling the truth,_ they thought. _Scarlett could be right._

"Ma'am?" The woman stopped fussing over her driver and turned to Locksley. "Where are you going?"

She sighed, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "I'm going to live with my mother. I will be happy to give the driver directions."

Robin swung back to face Will. "Satisfied Scarlett?"

The rest of the outlaws were, Will saw. _Mark that one more to Robin's side. He even has them feeling sorry for a noble. What a crock that is._

"I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"I'll take her to her 'mother's home.'"

Everyone turned at Will's announcement. But Will was only looking at one person. Robin had challenged him with this and he was not about to back down. Besides, if he had said no, he would have looked like a coward in front of everybody, and he couldn't afford to lose any more points to Robin in this private war.

* * *

"Hey, thief! Stop for a minute will you?" Will pulled back on the reins until the horses stopped. He had been driving for a while; the woman had quickly given him directions to her 'mother's house' and had been inside the coach the rest of the time. He hadn't heard a peep out of her until now. He leaned down to see what she wanted. The woman stepped out of the carriage and reached her hand up to Will. He took it, and only when her full weight was hanging from his hand, did he realize she wanted to get up. He then pulled and the woman clambered alongside.

"There, that's better. It is so stuffy in there." Scarlett just nodded, not looking forward to making conversation with this lady. "My daughter's sleeping, thank goodness. Nigel can take care of her. She hasn't gotten much sleep since…her name is Catherine. And I am Ellen Bennet," she trailed off with a question in her voice, but Will instantly decided not to answer it.

"Good for you."

"You handle a team very well…thief." _What's your name?_ her innocuous statement truly meant.

Will grunted his acknowledgment of the "compliment," now fully focusing on the team in front of him. He wasn't going to give the woman what she really wanted. It was just plain stubbornness; he had no real reason not to give the woman his name. But Will Scarlett had always been a stubborn man and his ire had been raised by this entire episode. The woman sighed, and turned her attention to the trees.

"Make sure you take this road coming up," Ellen pointed a while later, "thief," she added pointedly.

The outlaw finally broke into a smile. "Will Scarlett," he conceded the battle. It was the third time she had made a point of calling him that, and the ride had started to cool him off.

"Will Scarlett…" she tried it on, "I think I like 'thief' better. It's a joke," she defended at his annoyed glance. "I'm sorry; I will try to do better next time."

"Ma'am, you don't have to try again for my sake," he muttered, but made sure she heard it clearly. He hadn't cooled off _that_ much yet.

"Are you always this charming?"

"Only when I'm around females who make such scintillating conversation." He smiled sweetly.

"You pathetic little man," the regal lady despaired. "Just hurry up and get us there." But Will was not about to take orders from a noble, a noble_woman_ especially.

"Lady, do not order me around. I am doing this whole thing as a favor." His voice became sharper.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Was that before or after you robbed me?" Irritation laced Ellen's voice as she snapped back.

"Hey! You take your chances when you pass through Sherwood."

"And you have some property claim to Sherwood, do you?" In one unpredicted moment, the light-hearted battle of wits had become a war of words. The animals must have felt the tension, for they broke into a trot, the castle, their destination, looming in the distance.

"It's our forest! We live there!"

"Just living there doesn't give you the right to possession."

Will had practiced the art of arguing for years until everyone in his hometown would concede defeat before an argument had truly begun. He now spotted the flaw in her argument and remorselessly he attacked it. "If that's true, then what right do you have to anything, woman? All you _claim_ to possess came from your husband's hard work, or your parent's nobility. You don't own any of the things we stole."

"But neither did you and you stole them from me!"

"I'm sorry, but some of us have to work for a living. We're not all born with a silver spoon in our hands."

"So you decide to steal the spoons of others?"

"We gave yours back, didn't we?"

The woman paused, her brow furrowed as she analyzed what he had said; more, the way he said it. "Do you wish you hadn't?" She had been fussing over her daughter so she missed the discussion on that point.

"I just don't think a true leader would give into something as trivial as a woman's pitiful tears."

"I-never-cried." She emphasized each word slowly, making sure this ruffian understood absolutely.

"No you didn't, but you gave one sugarcoated, sappy story back there."

"It was the truth."

"So what? We all have hard lives, but we don't demand pity from everyone we meet."

"I didn't demand pity."

"Yes you did. But don't worry; you have plenty of people back there that are following your demands to the letter. You'll be pitied senseless in no time." He sat up straighter when he saw that he had almost reached their destination.

"You despicable little…" she muttered.

"Tut, tut. A woman of breeding should never swear you know."

"And a man from the very fringes of life should not tell a noble what to do! Good Lord, do you always talk like this, or are defenseless women the only people you _can_ talk down to?"

A clamor down the road broke off Will's harsh reply before it could start. He had driven up to the woman's new home, and there in the entrance, were Nottingham soldiers talking to an old woman. The noblewoman stopped talking also when she saw they were there.

"What are Nottingham soldiers doing here?" she asked aloud, her own disgust for them evident in her tone.

"Probably here to make sure you're pitied properly." Will said offhandedly as his mind churned over this new problem. One of the soldiers was standing with the horses and he turned his attention to them as the coach pulled up behind him.

_Breathe easy, Will, they don't know you at all, you're just another servant to them. Just play the part. _Coolly, he jumped down, and like any true servant, he held out his arm for the woman to get down. She took it silently, but once on the ground she continued their conversation in a low, angry voice.

"I should turn you in right now. Who knows, I might get a handsome reward."

"You going to turn me in to the same pigs who stole your husband's land?"

"Why not, you're all pigs to me," she replied evenly. The lady raised her voice to a scream.

"Help, help! He's one of the Sherwood bandits! He's trying to kidnap me! Catch him!"

Scarlett swore, but his instincts kicked in. He pulled his sword out and quickly swiped at the soldier nearest him. In an instant, he grabbed one of the horses, and once seated, spurred it into action. The other soldiers left the woman's doorstep and ran towards the one remaining animal and tore after the fugitive.

"Ellen, what did he do to you?" the outlaw heard the granny yell as he spurred off.

Will had been raised dirt poor and so had only seen horses as they passed by; never had he actually been on top of one. He understood the basics of horsemanship, but at this crucial game of cat-and-mouse, that point was moot. Utmost skill was needed, and Scarlett was barely hanging on. Still he somewhat managed to aim his horse into Sherwood forest. The branches tore at Will, teasing his already precarious balance.

The soldier was gaining by the minute; Will kicked his horse hoping for a renewed burst of speed. The horse, instead of increasing speed, decided at that moment to jump the fallen log that was in its way. Will had no earthly idea how to deal with that sudden change in elevation and he was flung to the ground, his sword flying from his grasp.

The soldier was off his horse and on top of him before he could react. A punch to the gut and a blow across his head dazed Scarlett. The man in the helmet grinned, and with a sick feeling, Will knew that this man would not take a prisoner today. The soldier aimed his sword straight into Will's gut— and despite its futility, Will instinctively jerked away—when the blade was neatly blocked by the shiny steel of another's.

Robin shoved the brute back as his powerful blade rolled over and pushed the opponent's high and away. The noble's sword left the other's, and the soldier barely began to defend himself before Locksley's blade gutted him. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"What did you get yourself into, Scarlett?"

"I'm fine, Locksley, thanks for asking."

"What did happen?" Robin repeated the question.

"You're poor, heartbreaking young lady turned me in. Right after I pulled up to her mother's castle, she turns and yells for these goons to arrest me."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was. I barely escaped with my hide."

"What happened here?" Azeem ran up to them.

"Well, the lady Will was driving decided to turn him in to the Sheriff."

"Why would she do that? She seemed fine with all of us when you left."

Will shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "Well, we were talking on the way, and we kind of got into a disagreement."

"You, Scarlett? No way," Azeem deadpanned. Will glared at him, while Robin struggled not to laugh. He really didn't want the fiery youth's ire to be on him again.

"What are you two doing here?" Will changed the subject. It was almost dusk, and traffic usually became nonexistent at this point, so the outlaws had taken to calling it quits at this point and returning home. It was a habit that none of the travelers through Sherwood had discovered yet, thank goodness, or there would be a lot fewer taxes for Sherwood.

"Well, Azeem was adamant that we stick around until you returned." Robin walked away, heading to the camp, and the other two fell into step with him.

"I had a suspicion you might find your way into some trouble," Azeem couldn't resist another barb at his friend. Then he decided to compliment the man. "By the way, Scarlett, I never got to congratulate you on stopping that coach, even if we didn't take anything from it."

"That _was_ smart, Scarlett." Robin was always one to praise good work, even the work of a man who hated him. "You walloped that man pretty good."

"I've got a pretty good kick," Will agreed.

"Still, we should probably find a better way to take down a coach than waiting for you to run them down, don't you think?"

Will laughed agreement. The light-hearted sound was choked into silence as belatedly he realized what he'd done. He picked up his pace, quickly outdistancing himself from the others. Neither of the two tried to keep up.

"Am I mistaken, or did I just have a civil conversation with that man?" Robin queried to Azeem, who smiled back.

* * *

"_Come on, Avery! Hurry!"_

"_I'm coming, but slow down. Hey, slow down!" Avery puffed as he ran after his friend. His friend didn't seem to hear him, he was still running. "Will! Wait!"_

_Will slowed and impatiently waited for his friend to join him. After what seemed an eternity, Avery ran up alongside him. Without a word, Will tore off again. Avery groaned, but followed._

"_We're here," Will spoke breathlessly. Towering above him, the stone wall glared down, daring the youngster to try and pass. Avery took a step back, a little nervous about what they were doing._

"_You know, your mother will kill you for this."_

"_If she finds out," he shot back. He pushed his dirty blonde hair out of his face. "Now come on, help me with this." Will jumped, trying to find a handhold on the great wall. Avery reached down, lacing his fingers. Will put his foot in the hold, and Avery boosted him farther up the wall. Will managed to grab a handhold around one of the jutting stones. He freed his foot from his friend's grasp and scrambled up, pushing off the wall with his feet. He reached out with his right hand and felt the top of the wall. Quickly he pulled himself up. There on the other side, stood Locksley manor._

"_Will. Will, help me up." Avery called, after his friend had stayed up there for several minutes, transfixed._

"_What—oh, here." Will hung off the wall with one arm and reached for his friend. Soon, Avery was alongside him._

"_Wow, look at that castle!"_

"_Look at those horses," Will replied, gesturing towards the stables. He twisted his body until he was sitting, his legs kicking the inside of the wall._

_Avery shook his head in disbelief. "Nobles get all the breaks, don't they?"he muttered, subconsciously echoing the sentiment he had always heard growing up in his small town._

"_Hey! What are you doing up there!"_

_Will jumped in surprise. That shook his precarious balance, and suddenly he was falling, flying through the air; he screamed but nothing came out. A gaping hole opened, and he was cart wheeling through the air towards it, falling and falling; he screamed for help, but the hole drowned all sound and it devoured him into its depths…_

Will bolted awake and panted for breath. He twisted out of the blanket that had strangled him during his dream. Needing air, he bolted out of his shelter.

The cold, crisp night hit him full blast, and Will welcomed the chill that instantly settled his overwrought nerves. He walked around, stretching out his tense muscles.

"You'll catch your death of cold, you know."

"I could say the same for you." She was sitting in the same place he usually found her, and amiably he squatted down beside her.

"Bad dreams?" she asked, though Fanny already knew the answer. It was always dreams that plagued the boy; what they were about she didn't know and had never asked.

He nodded, and they lapsed into silence. She noticed with concern that it took longer than normal for the slight tremors in his hands to go away. She knew the slight shaking and the disconcertedness that took Scarlett a while to get back under his tight control. He had taken far longer than usual. A different dream perhaps, she wondered.

They had spent so many evenings like this together; in fact the first time she had ever spoken with the youth was on one very such occasion. He had been in the village for a while then, but had always been cold and aloof, never joining a conversation if he didn't have to. She had been out, enjoying the peace and stillness of the night that never came in the day, what with seven children running wild around her. She had seen him, and silently welcomed him to join her, marginally surprised when he had accepted, until she had seen his eyes. His eyes told her all she had ever needed to know; he was lonely, and needing. She learned later that his needing was of a mother, a kind and generous woman who would love and accept him. Fanny, with a heart as every inch as big as her body, had quickly remedied both, and now they were familiar companions, following one of their age-old traditions.

"So, is it a boy or a girl this time?" Will asked; Fanny prided herself on having predicted (correctly) each and every son and daughter.

"Oh, she's definitely a girl."

"You're sure?"

"No doubt about it. She is a girl. I'm going to have another little daughter to cuddle and dress up."

"And teach her how to cook and clean and how to catch a man?"

Fanny smacked him hard atop the head. The conversation drifted to other things, and as the night deepened, their conversation slowed, until "mother" and "son" simply sat and enjoyed the serene beauty of Sherwood forest.


	6. Chapter 6

Like the early rains promising spring that yield once again to winter, so the warmth between Robin and Will came and went after that first conversation. There had been no confrontation; Will had simply ignored the older man each and every time he attempted civility. In fact, Azeem considered those moments of stony silence a victory; several times the youth had simply walked away before the noble could utter a sound. Robin was definitely puzzled by the abrupt change in the other's behavior. He had thought they had reached a truce, especially after he had saved the boy's life, but now…Scarlett was definitely back to hating him. For no reason he could detect. "What happened?" he despaired.

But while he said nothing to Locksley, Scarlett was sure to make his sarcastic voice heard by every other man in the camp, especially after the plan Locksley came up with to take down coaches. "It's not going to work, and why should we even bother when we're just going to give everything back to them?" referring to his first, and now that he was untrustworthy, his only, raid that he had been on.

Despite all his coaxing, Azeem could only watch helplessly as his two friends returned to their embittered positions, after only a few hours of shaky peace. There was nothing he could do about it. _And we're back, _he thought to himself,_ to square one._

* * *

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the melodic voice, inflected with the scorn that had grown annoyingly familiar to the rest of the camp, drifted over to where Azeem and John's family were gathered around a new member to Sherwood forest.

"We got ourselves a friar." Fanny grinned as she dumped some vittles onto the plate the sweaty old friar was holding.

"A hungry friar," Will observed as he grabbed his own plate and took a seat. The friar had already devoured half of the generous helping of stew and was quickly gobbling the rest away.

"Go easy on him, Will. The friar's had a busy day; he just finished beating up on Robin."

"You beat up Robin of Locksley. I think I just might like you Friar. Azeem smiled; he knew that was what Scarlett would say.

"Tuck's the name," the portly man said between mouthfuls. Fanny quickly refilled his plate.

"Will Scarlett."

"Well, what is it Will?" everyone turned at the whisper. Scarlett shook his head at the intruder.

"It's a friar."

"A friar?" Noah repeated, scurrying over and hopping up on the log, beside his friend. "What's a friar?"

"It's a religious man, sort of like a priest," Will looked to Tuck for confirmation, who nodded.

"Oh." Noah sat in silence, gazing at this new phenomenon as he cleaned another plateful. "Why are you dressed so strange?" he asked at last.

"Strange? Why I'm dressed just like everybody else," Tuck retorted.

"Priests don't wear that. They wear the long white dresses with all that…you know, ladies'jewelry and those tall hats."

"But he's not a priest," Will reminded the lad.

"But he's a friar," Noah defended his statements.

"So a friar is not a priest, is it?"

"You said they were!"

"No, I said a friar was like a priest. That doesn't mean they are the exact same." Only Azeem noticed Will's voice lost its sarcastic edges whenever he was around Noah: right now his tone was more that of an annoyed older brother, _which was fitting_, Azeem thought.

"Then what's the difference?"

Will sighed, long and exaggerated, and shook his head as if to say, _you poor little thing._ "Priests wear the dresses and the jewelry, friars wear the everyday clothing." _Put it all together little man._

"Oh," was all Noah could think to say. But he quickly regathered his wits. "So how was I supposed to know that? All you said was that they were alike. How was I to know that they weren't alike in their _clothing?_ I've never seen them before."

Will just rolled his eyes, but those same eyes were also smiling when he looked at Azeem across the way. _Noah is coming back_, the happy eyes told the painted Moor; he was getting the old fire and spunk that had been his personality since as long as Will had known him.

At that moment, Locksley joined the group gathered around Fanny's fire. "So, Tuck, what do you think of our little village?"

"It is a mighty impressive sight. The Lord has surely given this place his blessing."

Robin murmured his agreement to that statement. "And the Lord lent us a helping hand today when we intercepted that bribe from Nottingham."

"That is right. That is right," the religious man affirmed. Before he could continue, a bark of laughter from Will Scarlett momentarily halted the conversation.

"No-ah," Will intoned, laughing at the boy, "Oh Noah."

"Ask him Will," the boy earnestly pleaded.

"You ask him that." Will whispered as he struggled to contain himself.

"Come on, Will."

"No, Noah, it's your question."

"Please. Pleeeease," he wheedled.

Will sighed defeat. Another part of the boy's reemerging personality was his ability to easily manipulate people. "Oh, all right." He shifted to face Tuck. For a moment, all he could do was smile, but finally he haltingly began, "Noah would like to know…" here he paused to smile again, "do all friars harness themselves to their carts, and if they all do, then why are you still so fat?"

The rest of the camp looked at each other in bewilderment when the whole group surrounding Fanny's fire suddenly collapsed to the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

The day dawned bright and cheerful, but such was not the case in the dwelling of Stephen and his family. Stephen was out, but the mother and son left behind were in a fierce battle.

"Noah, sit still and help me mend your father's shirts."

"But Mother, Will was supposed—"

"Noah!" the worn-out woman was down to her last nerve. "For the last time, Will went with your father and the others on a hunting trip. You're too young, now either sit there and help me, or go and play with the other children."

"May I be of assistance?" a rich, cultured, and amused voice entered the fray.

"You can get this boy out of my sight." The mother turned away, exhausted and put-out.

"Well, Noah, why don't you come with me and let your mother have her breathing space?" Robin gently pushed the boy out of the house.

"Well, what are _you_ going to do?" Noah whined as he grudgingly went along.

"Azeem wants me to come and see a fascinating new invention he wants to use."

"An invention?" Ears had definitely perked up, Robin heard more than saw.

"Yeah, it's some sort of contraption that brings the water up to the tree houses…"

* * *

"I'm home, sweetie!" Stephen crooned, pecking his wife on the cheek, happy to be home after two days of hunting. He turned and quickly started devouring some food his wife had been preparing. 

"Why, good morning, my _darling_," she also crooned, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she watched him swallow up all the vittles.

"Good morning, Hannah," Will smiled. "Where's the little urchin?"

"Oh, he's out and about, probably tagging along after Robin again."

"Again?" Will asked startled.

"Yeah, he came by the first day and took him off my hands. Which reminds me, take that little monster with you next time you go anywhere, Scarlett. He's been griping and complaining nonstop since you left." Hannah swatted her husband away from getting any more. Turning around, she discovered she was talking to thin air.

Will had hurried out, determined to find Noah and… _what? Demand that he never see Locksley again because Will was his playmate first?_ Even he knew how ridiculous that was.

"Will!" Scarlett _oomphed_ as a body slammed into his, knocking him to the ground. Will panted to reclaim some of the air into his lungs, while his attacker clung to him in a fierce bear hug.

"You trying to kill me, you little urchin?" His wide grin completely made any attempt at gruffness on Scarlett's part obsolete. But hewas too happy to care about that. Noah was extremely happy to see him, which meant that Will must still be number one to the kid.

_Well, of course_, an inner voice chided. _You were only gone two days. Did you expect Locklsey to hoodwink him?_ He refused to answer. He laughed as his friend released his death grip—and soundly slapped Will on the cheek.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Azeem stopped to watch the two. "Well, what do you have pinned down, Noah?"

"I got Will Scarlett," Noah answered Azeem. "Will, you have some nerve going off without me! That's what that was for!If I was older and stronger I'd tan your hide."

"Oh, you would, would you?" With one hand, Will grabbed Noah's hair, pulled him off and threw him to the side, ignoring the boy's squeals of pain.

Azeem laughed as his friend heaved himself to his feet. Noah, having greeted, threatened, and been beaten by his playmate, now scampered off to play with the other children, not wanting to listen as the old geezers discuss boring adult stuff.

"What a hold you have on that kid," Azeem voiced his wonderment as the little boy took off.

"Not as much as I'd wanted." It slipped out before he could prevent it.

"What do you mean?" Azeem's voice was puzzled.

"Aww, nothing. Forget I mentioned it." He shrugged it off, and Azeem respected his wishes. He ambled over to where Robin and John were talking and laughing. He knew they would allow Will to join if Azeem brought him and he was always working to bring peace to his two friends' volatile relationship.

"There you are, Azeem. Oh, you're back Scarlett."

"How long did you expect to keep me away, Locksley?"

"I did not try to keep you away. If I had wanted that, I would have kicked you out long ago."

"Christian," Azeem warned one verbally, and his hand on a shoulder steadied the other. Lately, he had to verbally and physically jerk his two friends out of their little tête-à-têtes. For some reason, both were geared up and looking for a fight. The Moor was always amazed how incredibly stubborn the two were. Both got so annoyed so quickly, and never had a second thought to being vocal about it. It was strange how alike the two were, but Azeem knew both would cut out his tongue if he ever suggested such a thin to either of the two archenemies.

"Now, what were you two talking about?" Azeem steered the conversation back to a civilized topic, or so he hoped.

"Actually, we were talking about Scarlett."

"Me?" Will's voice was amused, obviously intended to rankle the other.

"It looks like you're on your way to as much fame as Locksley," John answered.

"What are you talking about?"

John held up a piece of parchment. Will read:

_Proclamation_

_One of the Hood's Men,_

_Will Scarlett_

_Dead or Alive_

_15 Gold Pieces_

_By Order of Nottingham_

"What you got, Will?" Noah flew by and ripped the parchment from his hands, read it, and returned it, smirking. "Whoa, 15 gold pieces. Maybe I should turn you in. It's almost as much as Locksley's 1000." Noah ducked the crumpled paper aimed at his head and ran off, laughing at his own comment.

"What a kid," Robin murmured. "To go through so much, and to just bounce back like that."

"What are you talking about?" Little John asked.

"Noah. Before he and his family came, those pathetic excuses for soldiers vandalized his home. They took everything and buried the rest. With all that happening, the kid gets upset when the soldiers take their prize rooster."

"A rooster?"

"Yeah, evidently, that was the kid's favorite, the best of them all—his words—and so he threw a rock and clipped one of them. Well, they didn't take too kindly to that, and gave him a little beating to remind him of his place. Fortunately, the only permanent mark they made was the scar. He could have been branded all over."

"He told you that?" The question came unbidden; he couldn't believe it.

"Of course," Robin raised his eyebrows. "Didn't he tell you?" He read Scarlett"s expression correctly and proceeded to give his advice. "Will, if you want to be a good friend you need to get someone to relive something so awful, so they can heal…."

Azeem listened, a frown crossing his features. He didn't like what Locksley was doing. Azeem had wondered why Robin had suddenly taken an interest in Noah when Will had left. Robin didn't hang out much with the children, except for Wulf, of course. Really, Wulf and Robin had the same relationship that Will and Noah had. Azeem thought he understood now. He had wanted to irk Will. Robin and Will's rocky relationship was now branching out to affect others. Robin had known before that Will had never asked about Noah's scar and he had been waiting for the chance to show him up with his little speech. AndWill was annoyed at what Robin had done, Azeem understoodtheearlierquestion now.What childish antics…boy, those two were more alike than he had previously thought. Both acting like children. He tuned back in to Robin's lecture.

"…And when a child," Azeem smirked at this, "goes through something like that, you have to force them to open up. It's the only way they recover from a truly horrible experience."

"And we know who to blame for that experience don't we?" Will countered heatedly before turning away. He was mad, mainly at Robin, mainly at him for being… well, right. He knew Robin had only lectured him to annoy him, but he had gotten Noah to talk about something he had never before wanted to talk about. It was infuriating! He had been trying to do the exact thing Robin had talked about, gently leading him back into the real world, helping him recover his lost self. But he had never gotten Noah to talk all that time, and in two days that's what Locksley had done. Will remembered his earlier thoughts: Robin _had_ hoodwinked him!

* * *

"Nightmares again?"

"No, just couldn't sleep."

"Thinking?" Fanny replied knowingly. Will nodded. "About Robin?"

"How did you—what are you talking about?" Will attempted to cover his slipup.

"Will Scarlett, this place is smaller than even our old village. I can watch you every day for as long as I want."

"And what do you see?"

Fanny ignored the condescending air of her friend. She knew he was only trying to get her to stop.It might have worked with a man, but not with a mother of five and one on the way."You're wondering," she paused to collect her thoughts, "you're thinking…and you're trying to decide."

"Decide what?" Will barely bit it out though his clenched teeth.

She smiled. "Whether you like him or not."


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a little author's note. In this chapter, a few parts might be easier to understand if you've seen the DVD of the movie with the deleted scenes (it's just for one part). If you haven't, or get confused, just tell me in your review and I will be happy to explain what transpired in the movie. Thanks, and sorry for the long stretch between updates. And on with the story!**

* * *

"Look at that!" Stephen whistled. Scarlett glanced up, and stared.

"Who is she?" Will asked, stricken dumb at the most enchanting vision he had ever seen.

"She's Lady Marian, the king's cousin."

"The King's cousin?" another echoed.

"Way to go, Robin!" chuckles followed that observation.

She followed Robin as he showed off the camp, smiling at the people and the magnificent accomplishments of the village. But Scarlett could see that she mainly smiled at Locksley.

"And this is Giles, Stephen, and Will Scarlett."

"So this is the other infamous outlaw. I must say I've heard a great deal about you."

The surprise showed on his face. _From who? Robin? No way!_

"The rumors about your escapade with Miss Ellen are just flying around. You are the terror of every noblewoman in the country. Why, I even got a letter from my mother at court warning me about you and your murderous antics."

"I think these rumors have been a little mistaken. Miss Ellen almost got _me_ killed."

"Just like someone else we know, right?" Robin inquired sarcastically.

Marian scoffed. "You were stealing my horses." They walked away, playfully bickering about their first adventure together. Will grumbled to himself about the judgment of women, for fawning over somebody like Locksley.

* * *

Later that night, the celebration was in full swing. Everywhere people were dancing and the few women were danced senseless by the many eager young men. Panting, Will retired from the festivities to cool down. It was all very innocent, he just accidentally happened to come across the perfect spot to eavesdrop on the conversation of two young lovers. Perfectly innocent.

"How is it that a once arrogant young nobleman has found contentment living rough with the salt of the earth?" _Ooh, interesting question._

"I've seen knights in armor panic at the first hymns of battle. And I've seen the lowliest, unarmed squire pull a spear from his own body, to defend a dying horse," Robin spoke quietly and passionately. "Nobility is not a birthright; it's defined by ones actions."

"It's interesting to hear you say that."

"I didn't. My father did."

Will barely heard the last two sentences as he stumbled away. His mind was reeling, for that statement had sent his mind far back, to a memory he never like to remember.

"_Come on Avery, hurry up!" Will called to his friend. They were almost at the castle wall now. He couldn't wait to see the place. His mother whined and complained about it, but she always mentioned how beautiful the castle was. Of course, she would never allow him to be here. No, she'd skin him alive if she found out. But Will had to visit this place. He was fascinated by it. Secretly, he daydreamed on and on about how he would ride up to the castle, push down the gates and demand everyone listen to him. He knew that his brother just didn't really like his mother, and he had no idea at all about Will, so once Robin saw Will he would instantly apologize and welcome him into his home. It was always his brother that would do this, not his father. He didn't think about his father that much. In his mind, his father should have loved his mother and it was obvious that he didn't so he just wasn't worth thinking about. He disliked his father, and in his dreams his brother would banish the father forever off their lands. After that, he just didn't think about his father very much. _

_But he thought about his brother. They would ride around and play together, just like two brothers should do, and Robin would always tease Will about being "his little tag-along." Will knew his brother would like him if he knew who he was. He just knew it. Of course, his mother had forbidden him to tell anyone the truth and that included, especially included, his father and brother. "We do not need their charity or their pity," she would spat. "Not after what they've done to us," and Will would always nod and agree. But a kid could dream couldn't he? _

"_You know, your mother will kill you for this."_

"_If she finds out," he shot back. He pushed his dirty blonde hair out of his face. "Now come on, help me with this." Will jumped, trying to find a handhold on the great wall. Avery reached down, lacing his fingers. Will put his foot in the hold, and Avery boosted him farther up the wall. Will managed to grab a handhold around one of the jutting stones. He freed his foot from his friend's grasp and scrambled up, pushing off the wall with his feet. He reached out with his right hand and felt the top of the wall. Quickly he pulled himself up. There on the other side, stood Locksley manor._

"_Will. Will, help me up." Avery called out after his friend had stayed up there for several minutes, transfixed._

"_What—oh, here." Will hung off the wall with one arm and reached for his friend with the other. Soon, Avery was alongside him._

"_Wow, look at that castle!"_

"_Look at those horses," Will replied, gesturing towards the stables. He twisted his body until he was sitting on the wall, his legs kicking the inside of the wall now. The castle was huge! The grounds were huge! All the stables and horses and food and servants! Will stood up on the wall to get a fuller view._

"_Look at the place—"_

"_Hey, what are you doing up there?" The old man yelled. Will jumped at the unexpected voice, and his feet scraped the edge of the wall as he tried to land. His momentum threw him forward and he desperately flapped his arms to balance himself but it was useless. He fell gracelessly to the ground inside Locksley manor._

"_What do you kids think you are doing?" the old man pulled the startled kid up by the scruff of his collar. "Hey you up there, get down here now!"_

_The black-haired boy took a second to study the situation before he jumped to the ground (on the other side) and ran as far away as possible. Will didn't blame him one bit, but now he was stuck alone with one grumpy old man._

"_I wish Master Robin was here, he'd know just how to take care of you. Lucky fer you, he's out with his friends, so—" the old man trailed off as the gates were swung open._

"_What is going on here Duncan?" Robin asked in amusement as he and Peter rode through the gates. Peter was clutching the arm of a struggling Avery who was forced to walk alongside Peter's horse. They strolled over and Avery's arm was released. He quickly went and stood next to his friend._

"_These boys were climbing your walls, sire. They should be punished for trespassing on your property."_

"_We didn't mean any harm, we only wanted to see it." Avery blurted in defense._

"_Only wanted to see it," Peter scoffed._

"_Now, be fair, Peter. Lord knows this place can seem like heaven to some worthless street rats. I'm sure they heard of its beauty and wanted to enrich their lives by seeing it." He and Peter laughed at his joke. Will felt the first stirrings of anger._

"_Actually, we heard what a dung heap this was, and we wanted to see what kind of _maggots_ would want to live here."_

_Locksley face grew red and he struck out with his boot, connecting directly under the boy's chin. Will's head snapped back, and for the second time, he fell gracelessly to the ground. As soon as he was able, he sprang back to his feet, determined not to show weakness._

"_What is going on here?" a thunderous voice boomed out. _

"_Nothing, Father," Robin answered, a frosty tone entering his voice as he spoke to the lord of the manor, his father._

_Lord Locksley surveyed the scene, his hawk eyes noting everything and surmising what had just transpired. Will's own eyes narrowed at the sight of the man._

"_Peter go home."_

"_Yes sir," he replied, not wishing to be around when Locksley was in one of his moods, and quickly galloped out the open gate and went home._

"_You struck him, didn't you Robin, a poor, defenseless boy?"_

"_That's truly typical, Father, walk in and blame me for—"_

"_Answer me," he roared._

"_Yes, I struck him, but he deserved it. He's just some beggar, trespassing on our land."_

"_You are a noble, Robin. Your job is to protect and defend these people, not bully them into submission. If he needed money, you should be the first to give it to him." _

"_I don't want your" Will heatedly began, but Lord Locksley continued on, drowning him out. _

"_Apologize."_

"_No."_

"_Apologize."_

"_He's village scum, Father, just here to beg for some money and I'm not going to disgrace myself by apologizing to this lowlife."_

"_When will you learn, boy? Nobility is not a birthright. It's defined by one's actions."_

"_What does that make you, Father?" Robin asked, his voice full of anger._

"_A Celt?" Will supplied, his own anger at the Lord Locksley bubbling over._

_Robin snorted. "Good one, kid. But all right, Father, I'll do what you want." He dug into his saddlebag and grabbed a small bag. "Here you go, boy, now both of you get out." He tossed the purse on the ground at Will's feet._

_Will picked it up, feeling the weight of the coins, but he heard the words of his mother and he felt her anger well up inside him._

"_I don't want your filthy money." He threw the purse into the young Locksley's face, and then he and Avery dashed away and out the still open gate and raced home._

Will's cheeks burned at the memory. He had been a stupid kid full of dreams of adventure and excitement alongside his brother. That incident had jolted him into the harsh reality of life. His father and brother were not like his dreams. He remembered every single insult they said of him. _Street rat, lowlife, scum, beggar_ and especially his father's answer, _give him money._ He didn't need their charity or pity. No, his family had not been like his dreams.

But Locksley had sounded so sincere back there. Could he have changed so completely that he would repeat something his father had said? Was that possible?

"Hey, Azeem," Will sidled alongside the older man. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I just remembered what prejudice was like," Azeem responded, mulling over the Friar's actions, which Will had missed. "Since I met Christian, I had forgotten."

"Father! Father! She's dying!" Wulf screamed through the crowd.

"Fanny," Will breathed as Azeem fled into the crowd. Will followed behind, but when Azeem entered the home, he hung back. He knew he would be of no help, just another person to try to do something and just end up in the way. All he could do was stand there as Robin, Marian, Azeem, Friar Tuck, and John tended to her. He had never been more frightened in his entire life.

Angry voices rose from the house, and then John and Marian rushed out.

"What's happ—" Will tried to ask but John and Marian were too busy gathering things to even register someone was talking to them, and soon they were back inside the house. A few minutes later, and John and the Friar left the house, the Friar sitting down and John just pacing back and forth. Scarlett walked forward to see if he could hear any news of Fanny.

"The barbarian's killing her John."

The barbarian…Azeem! What was he doing?

Wulf walked out, but he stood in front of the door. John heard his wife's screams of agony and he lost control. He lunged for the door, while Wulf tried to hold his ground against his father. But Wulf was a scrawny kid, and John was a brute on a rampage. It was a losing battle.

"What are you doing John?" Will grabbed the giant and pulled him away from Wulf and the entrance.

"Get off of me Scarlett!" John yelled once he realized who had pulled him away, but by this time Will had stepped in front of him, blocking him from the door.

"He's killing her!" the Friar yelled to John, who screamed something unintelligible. Will dug his feet into the ground as he forced the raging husband an arm's length away.

"Do you trust Robin?" Will pleaded as soon as he could get a word in, hoping to stop the man's struggle before he was overpowered.

"What in bloody hell has that got to do with anything?"

"If you trust Robin, you should trust whom he trusts! And Robin trusts Azeem!" he screamed passionately at the crazed man. "You should too," he added quietly.

John blinked for a few seconds, and his senses started to come back to him. He quit struggling, and Will slowly relaxed his grip. Now the older man had no mission, no purpose, left only to worry, and he dropped exhausted to the ground, his eyes boring holes in to the doorframe, listening to his wife's painful cries. Will gestured to Wulf who quickly knelt beside his father. Scarlett relaxed a little bit more, but he stood nearby, continuously guarding the home, and Fanny's only hope for survival.

They waited for what seemed hours, but then a cry came, loud and wailing, a baby's cry. The crude door swung out and Marian stepped into the night.

John looked up, fear in his eyes. "Fanny—"

"—is fine," Marian assured him.

"John," Fanny called, and that was all the encouragement he needed as he flew into his house.

"Boy or girl?" Will asked softly as Marian started back inside. She smiled and her face glowed in the moonlight.

"A boy," she answered and disappeared.

A boy. Fanny had been wrong, it wasn't a girl. Fanny was alive! The child was alive! Now he didn't know what to do. What was the etiquette when someone had a baby? Do you just congratulate them, or do you give them gifts? Do you say I'm glad you're not dead?Or do you give them their privacy for a while? He saw some flowers (that seemed like a happy medium) but they were ones Fanny despised, too frilly and unpractical. But in Will's mind he saw that angelic smile and he gently pulled one up. He would find some others for Fanny later.

She was outside again, breathing deeply her flushed cheeks cooling from the night air; a piece of heaven amidst the rubbish of the earth.

"May I have this dance?" he held out the flower and she smiled; Will's heart leapt. But then Robin swooped in and snatched her away, both of them laughing and smiling as he twirled her around and around Sherwood forest. Will just watched them in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

"Good morning, Fanny."

"Good morning," the woman beamed, happy to be outside again and in the fresh air.

"Let me take a look at this little boy," Robin cooed as John relinquished the baby to the leader. The baby looked up at him with wide eyes, and then he made gigglish sounds as Robin swung him up and down.

_Great, another one who's easily swayed by Locksley's charms_. Will grumbled to himself as he walked up to the group. He carried a couple of wildflowers that he had picked (these were Fanny's favorites).

"And how is our new mother this morning?"

"New mother? Someone needs to teach you how to count, Will Scarlett. The last time I was a new mother was seven babies ago, when Wulf was born," she frowned. "Great, now you've made me feel old."

"You did that yourself," he grinned. "So, how's the little girl doing?"

John scratched his head. "Uh, Scarlett, I don't know if you can tell, but it's a boy."

"Oh really?" he sounded surprised. "But Fanny was so sure it was going to be a girl. I guess that know-it-all charm just wears off with time." He ducked a swat to the head.

"Watch yourself, Scarlett. And anyway, I never said that."

"Oh, I quote: 'it's a girl. Definitely a girl this time.'"

"I don't know what you're talking about Will Scarlett. I always knew it was going to be a boy."

"Whatever you say," he smiled again, but instantly killed it when he glanced in Robin's direction. "So, I take it you actually let Marian go?" he asked.

Robin looked away from the baby for the first time. "Yes, I took her down to the lake. The boys will get her home from there. Duncan went with them."

"Duncan? Are you sure that's wise?" John quickly voiced his concerns.

"No one is allowed to leave the camp once they've seen the route. You made that rule yourself." Will jumped to accuse Robin.

"He couldn't last the winter here and I know he felt useless. It'll work out for the best."

"So did you kiss her?" Fanny asked bluntly.

"W-What—no" Robin was startled for a moment, and then a rare thing happened; Robin of Locksley, the stoic leader of Sherwood, blushed. "Well, she might have kissed me on the cheek, I don't really remember."

"She kissed you!" John hurrahed his friend with his booming set of pipes. Robin ducked his head, and then he quickly took his leave, returning the baby to Fanny and exiting with haste before John could start any teasing.

John stood grinning after him. "Well, Marian is off, but I'd say Robin has fallen completely head over heels for that girl."

"I'm glad," Fanny replied, "she's such a sweet thing and so pretty."

"Beautiful," Will spoke before he thought, nothing unusual.

"What's that I see, Will Scarlett? Have you done a wee bit of falling for her yourself?" Fanny teased, a huge grin to match her husband's on her face.

"I haven't fallen for anyone," he groused back. "I just…well, she is pretty," he defended himself. "Besides, I think she's fallen just as hard for Locksley as he has for her." _Girls are so stupid, always falling for the wrong man._

"Jealous?" John inquired.

"No. Let me see the baby." Fanny obliged, placing the baby in Will's arms and teaching him the proper hold. It was quiet for a moment as it considered this change of location before it let loose an ear-splitting shriek. Will rocked it for a second, but to no avail.

"Well, I think it wants you." He handed the child back and instantly it calmed in his mother's arms. "What are you thinking about naming him?"

"I have no idea, all I had picked out were girl—" she broke off.

"Aha! I was right!"

* * *

"_I think we can stop now, Avery. They're not following us," Will slowed to a walk after he and his friend had sprinted out of Locksley castle like the devil was nipping at their heels. _But I guess the devil decided to stay inside,_ he thought sarcastically. _

_Avery collapsed to the ground, panting. Will fell beside him. They lay silent for a few seconds, each catching their breath, and then Avery's emotions bubbled forth._

"_I can't believe what he did to us! It's not fair that he gets all the rank and money and stuff, and what do we get! Nothing!" he yelled angrily, despite the fact that most of the insults had been directed to Will not him, but Avery had always been a passionate kid who took an insult to his friends as one aimed directly to himself, and besides that he had always been an angry kid too._

"_That's the way it is, and there's nothing we can do about it," Will responded, glum and deflated. He was just a little boy, and his first ever big dreams had been crushed in an instant; this little boy had no hope left. His brother had seen to that._

"_Oh, yes there is. One day, we're going to get even with them," Avery's eyes flared with fury, a look that Will would adopt in later years, but not at that moment. At that precise moment, he was just the skeptical sidekick to the howling inferno that was his friend. _

"_But how?" _

"_I don't know!" Avery shook his head at his friend, exasperated at his lack of enthusiasm. "But one day we'll get even with them. One day, I'll show Robin of Locksley who's the village scum. And it won't be me!" _

* * *

This chapter wasa little short, I know. Next chapter should be longer with more action, but I am going on vacation, so the next chapter won't be up for a couple of weeks. (I'll only be gone a week, but I think I will be too busy to work on the story.) But please stick with me, we're just getting to the fun part! Thanks, and don't forget to review! )


	10. Chapter 10

Hey I'm back and here's the next chapter. (The chapter after this _might_ be up by next week.) I'm just letting y'all know, I'm going to be veering off the storyline a little. But I'm not going to tell you how much. Also, I make no promises on keeping characters, major or minor, alive. )

* * *

"God bless you, god bless you," the woman gushed as she clutched at the loaf of bread. Many of these cries echoed throughout the village as Robin Hood and his men tossed to the villagers all the food and gold they had stolen. 

Will was driving one of the wagons with Azeem riding alongside. Noah was in the back, throwing out the supplies. They had visited many towns that day. As the news of Robin Hood had spread from town to town, so had the desperate cries from other needy villages. And Locksley was answering their pleas, traveling farther and farther away from the safety and security that was Sherwood forest.

"Do you think she will write the letter to Richard?" Azeem asked Robin, who was riding along beside on his, or rather the sheriff's, white steed.

"I think she will," Robin answered, wanting to keep what she had said at the lake a secret; it was special to him. "I think she will wait a couple of weeks."

"Why?" Noah asked.

"The Sheriff watches everybody, and Azeem and I were seen at her place a while back," Azeem grunted at the understatement. "And she will want to make sure that no one will suspect her jaunt into Sherwood had anything to do with this letter. She could get into a lot of trouble," Robin trailed off.

"She's a brave woman," Azeem agreed. "What's that, Christian?" he pointed at Robin's belly. Robin looked down and pulled out the dagger that he had placed in his pants.

"Marian gave it to me." He gave it to Azeem for inspection. Noah crawled over until he was right behind the two on the wagon seat to look at the knife.

"Hmm, intricate," Azeem studied the jewel encrusted handle. "Beautiful rubies. It must be worth a fortune. Marian must like you very much." He handed the knife back.

"She certainly danced with him enough." Will muttered to Noah. The kid chuckled.

"What was that?" Robin asked.

Noah was in a mischievous mood, and he decided to expand on Will's statement. "Will said that he didn't like you dancing with Maid Marian the entire night and not letting him have one chance to sweep her off her feet." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Will smacked him upside the head.

Robin glanced at Will for a second, then he slowly smiled. "Oh yes, Will, I forgot. Marian told me to tell you she was _so_ sorry for not dancing with you. She thought the flower you gave her was so…_cute_." He lightly snubbed Will with the last word, but there was no malice in his words. Still, Will bristled and quickly responded.

"And you gave her, let's see, a blind, helpless old man, and an invitation to throw herself in prison. All in all, I think the flower is the better gift." Azeem struggled not to smile, he didn't think that would help the situation between his two friends all that much.

And then, inexplicably, Robin chuckled. Will and Azeem both jolted at the sound, not expecting anything akin to amusement coming from Locksley.

"'Invitation to throw herself in prison,' that was a good one, Will," Robin complimented the stunned outlaw, a dreamy look in his eyes, and then he cantered forward. The three in the wagon stared after him.

"Being in love must make you do strange things," Scarlett shook his head.

"Oh, it does," Azeem agreed quietly, his mind reaching back to a different place and time, a time where _he_ was the one in love. Quickly he pulled himself back to the present. This was no time for Yasmina.

Will watched as Robin Hood rode through the village. He appeared to listen to every single person that said something to him, and he seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say.

_Yeah right, him interested in something some village scum had to say._

But he did appear to be, and he even managed to smile and say a few words to most of them. And they would gush back with their "thank you Robin's" and their "god bless Robin Hood's", especially when he would hand each of them several gold coins.

_He hands the coins to _them_, and throws them on the ground at _me. Will forced his thoughts away. He had been up more and more at night; his nightmares would not leave him alone. Will's nightmares weren't the usual nightmares. His weren't scary or frightening—they were just humiliating reminders of the past, and the embarrassment he would still feel would keep him up for a long time. Used to, he would spend the rest of the night with Fanny, but now Fanny needed all the sleep she could get what with a brand new baby on her hands. She would usually help him keep his mind off of the dreams, but now he stayed awake just brooding over them. Will didn't need to be reminded of his past in the daytime too.

"Will, can I hold the reins?"

The people in this village were satisfied with what they were getting (they knew not to be too greedy) and Noah had nothing to hand out and nothing to do.

"No." Will was curt.

"Please," he whined.

"No, I don't trust you." In his mind's eye he saw them racing through the towns, goods just flying off, Azeem and him knocked off and the horses racing over a cliff.

"I'll keep them at a walk, I promise." Will shook his head and Noah knew that was that. But he still didn't have anything to do, and that meant sheer boredom. He picked up a feather in the wagon and twirled it through his fingers. Then the little boy grinned and slid closer to Will.

Scarlett reached his hand back to scratch off a bug that was tickling his neck. Then another bug started tickling his ear; he swatted that fly away. Then another one was back on his neck. Angrily, he slapped his neck, hard. At that moment, both Noah and Azeem burst into laughter.

"What the—Noah! You little scamp!" He latched on to Noah's wrist and threw the feather away. Giving the reins to Azeem, he grabbed both wrists in one hand, twirled him around and gave him some playful swats to the rear. Noah was laughing as Will finished and slung him over and onto the seat between Azeem and himself. "There, maybe you'll behave now." Will held the reins again. They drove on.

Another tickling on the back of his neck and Will turned around and glared at Noah. "Boy you better not—" he started, but then halted as Azeem lazily twirled the feather Will had dropped between his fingers. The wise man looked up at him and grinned. Scarlett pursed his lips and stoically ignored the two others as they began to crack up.

"Sir! Wait! Robin Hood, please!" a man ran up to stop the leader from leaving the village. Will drew the wagon up behind Locksley's horse. Wulf and Giles in their wagon in front of Locksley halted to listen also.

"Please, sir, eight miles north, the village of Dorshire, it's in desperate need. Please go and help them."

"It has grown late my friend, we cannot go today. We might be able to go tomorrow," he added as he saw the man's crestfallen face.

"But sir, some of the little ones, they are bad off. They need food now! They are real bad off, last winter almost done the village through, and this winter is about to finish 'em off. You will go, Robin Hood won't you?" the man pleaded, his hands desperately gripping the stallion's mane as he looked up into Robin's face.

"All right, we'll go," Robin agreed, his kind nature crying out as he heard the suffering of the village. He looked at the food in both wagons.

Giles spoke, "Robin, that is far out of our way. We'll never reach Sherwood before nightfall."

"It will be all right," Robin assured him. "Besides, aren't there two villages that way?" he asked the beggar.

"Yes sir, same way, but then one goes a little to the east, but the one I'm talking about," he hurriedly rushed on, "is past that, straight north."

"Yes, I know, don't worry we'll get there," he assured him. Robin glanced at the front cart, and then he rode around until he was behind Will's wagon to study the leftover food.

"Wulf, Giles, you will go with me to Dorshire. Azeem, Will, take your cart and branch off to the east village. That village isn't in as bad shape, so I've heard, so there should be enough food in yours."

"Can I drive the team, Will?" Noah asked hopefully.

Scarlett sighed, he hated having to say the same things over and over again. It was the main big thing he disliked about children. "No."

"Ple—"

"Oh, go bug someone else," Will grumbled irritably. Noah frowned and stuck his tongue out at him. But then his eyes brightened.

"Robin?" he asked as the man rode past them to join Wulf's wagon. He stopped when his name was called.

"Yes?"

"Can I ride behind you to the village?"

"Why sure you can. Climb on." Noah grinned with excitement and clambered over Azeem and stood up on the wagon seat. Robin and Azeem helped him onto the horse.

"Hold tight to me now," Robin advised the boy behind him, and then he trotted forward to the other wagon. The wagon and the stallion headed off. Azeem studied his friend beside him, who had tensed up, and an angry set had appeared to his lips.

"You did tell him to go bug someone else, you know."

"Oh be quiet." Will flicked the reins and started after them.

Azeem shook his head and smiled at his young friend, but the rest of the ride passed in silence.

"Hold up there!" Robin called, riding up beside Will. "There's your village," he pointed a little ways to the east, where the first dilapidated house appeared. "We'll go on to Dorshire, and meet right back here when we're done." They nodded, and he then trotted back to the other wagon and they started moving again. Noah waved back at them, a smug smile on his face.

* * *

Will and Azeem quickly gave out all the remaining supplies, and swiftly made it back to the meeting place. It would take the others a while. They waited for a little bit, and then a cloud of dust was on the horizon. They watched it come closer. 

"That must be them, but why are they going so fast?" Azeem observed.

"Probably Noah is driving." The two shared amused glances, then waited as the team and wagon pulled up, with just Wulf and Giles inside. They looked frightened out of their wits.

"Will!" Giles shouted. "They've taken them! Robin and Noah, they've taken Robin and Noah!"


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, I'm back, and with **four** new chapters! Yea! But please, I've given you **four** chapters, count 'em, it would be so nice to receive **four** reviews from each person. I mean, I could have strung them all out and made you wait each week for them, but I didn't. **Four** little reviews can't hurt you. They don't have to be long. Please, please. Or if you've never reviewed at all, please just give me **one** little review, to let me know you are reading. **One** little review. Pretty please!Okay, okay, I've begged and grovelled enough. On with the story!

* * *

"What! What are you talking about?" Will's heart pounded in his ears as he struggled to understand the chaotic stream of words that burstforth from Wulf and Gilesall at the same time.

"Slow down," Azeem advised them. "and tell us what happened from the beginning."

Giles inhaled, exhaled, and by that time he had calmed down enough to explain.

"We had just gotten to Dorshire and we were starting to hand out the food and money. We were in front of Robin and Noah when all of a sudden, some men begging for money—I guess now they were pretending—jumped Robin. They tried to pull him off his horse, but they couldn't get him off, and Robin tried to get the horse out of the hands of the men. Then the men grabbed Noah and pulled him down. Well, Robin jumped off the horse and tackled that man. He fought hard, but," he shrugged, "…they got him."

"Noah too?" Will asked, knowing the answer since the boy wasn't there, but hoping somehow he was wrong.

"Noah too. Wulf and I were running to them by that time, but" here he took a deep breath, "Robin yelled at us to go and get help. He yelled it several times, and we did what he said. We left him," he muttered.

"You did right," Azeem assured the dejected man.

"We have to help them!" Wulf exclaimed passionately, stating the obvious, Will thought.

"And help them we will." Azeem murmured absently as he studied the situation.

"The sheriff's actually being clever," Will shook his head. "Did you see where they took them?"

Giles and Wulf glanced at each other and both shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "Uh, no, we didn't think to stay and watch."

Azeem broke in to keep Will, who was already rolling his eyes, to comment and worsen the situation further. "Then that is the first priority." He continued,

"The sheriff's men have seen you two, it's a sure bet they will recognize you if you go back. So I'll go," Azeem stated confidently. Scarlett cocked an eyebrow at him, and despite the gravity of the situation, his lips curled upwards in the beginning of a smile.

"Uh, Azeem, I hate to be the one to tell you this," he began, "but you don't really _blend_ _in_ all that well."

"Oh," a smile flitted across his face, "you're right, but that leaves…" the painted man trailed off.

"Me?" Will finished the thought.

"Hey, I'm sure I can go, they probably won't recognize me, they didn't get that good a look at me," Giles quickly volunteered, not really eager to have Locksley's greatest adversary in the camp getting that close to the action of rescuing the leader.

Will shook off Giles's offer. "No, I'll go. Don't worry," he assured all them, "I'll do whatever it takes to save Noah." Will shook off Giles's offer. "Besides," he glanced at Azeem, "I've had plenty of experience _blending_ _in_ to different towns."

"All right, you and I will go find Robin and Noah," Azeem was firm, a steel edge in his voice so that no one dared question his going, "and you two get back to Sherwood and gather all the men to help us. Go!"

* * *

It was late afternoon when Will entered the village. Azeem was hiding with the wagon in the woods at the edge of town, waiting for Will and ready to spring out if anyone the least bit threatening passed by going either into or out of the town. _Man_, Will harangued himself, _why did I leave my sword at camp, on this day of all days?_ He glanced around. There were several little clusters of people whispering together. He casually edged closer to the nearest one. 

"Are you sure it was really him?"

"How do I know what Robin Hood looks like?" one man held his hands out defensively. "I've never seen him, but he was on a white stallion. Hood is said to have stolen the Sheriff's white horse and how many of those are around here?"

"So they have Robin Hood." There was silence for a moment as each one pondered the man's statement. Will was on the outer fringes of the group now. He kept his eyes roaming over the village, searching for any sign.

"Where did they take him?" Yes! Someone who hadn't seen what had happened either; Will was grateful, now hopefully he wouldn't have to ask the questions and risk drawing unwanted attention to himself.

"Over there, the farthest cabin down there. They took him and the scrawny kid with him."

_Why are they keeping them at a cabin? Shouldn't the soldiers be bringing him directly to the Sheriff? What are they going to do with them? Come on mister, ask him what are they going to do with them? Ask it!_

"What are the men planning to do?" Close enough.

"I guess they're going to hold Hood until they get the reward from the Sheriff. Man, a thousand gold pieces, that's a pretty nice sum of money…"

_Wait, they're not Nottingham's soldiers? So a bunch of _farm boys_ outwitted Locksley? He ain't gonna like that. _

Will eased his way out of the crowd and as casually as he could manage he walked away until he came behind the house, out of sight of the townspeople. He slipped into the shadows and creeped his way, careful to not attract the least bit of attention, down until he was in the shadows of the cabin adjacent to the last one. The one the man had said Locksley and Noah were in.

He stood still, wondering what to do from here. The man had said this was the place, but so far he didn't know for sure. And he couldn't go back to Azeem with an unjustified rumor. It might be wrong, and that would cost them time, and maybe the others' lives. And he didn't want to just go back and wait around for John to show up. So he decided to stay and wait just for a little bit, and if nothing happened after that time, he would sneak up and find a window to peer through and see what there was to see. _And hope no one is on the other side waiting to plunge an arrow in my head._

Two men left the other cabin, their profiles to Will, who kept behind his own cabin, grateful for the long afternoon shadows that hid him from sight. Another man walked up with the white stallion, handed it to them and then retired to the cabin. Will clenched his fists as the shorter man swung up and onto Robin's horse. _That's Robin's horse, get off!_

"Now get the Sheriff and make sure he understands, we expect the full reward. The **full** reward. Nothing less." The rider nodded and took off. The lone man stood watching after him for a moment. Then he turned and his face was fully towards the hidden outlaw for the first time. The breath caught in his throat as he recognized the man standing before him.

Avery.


	12. Chapter 12

_Avery?_ Will couldn't believe his eyes. There, right in front of him, stood his childhood friend that he hadn't seen in years. What was he doing here? _Oh_. After a moment's reflection, Will thought he knew the answer to that question. _This is not good._ _Think, Will, think. Man I wish I had my sword._

"Avery?"

The man had turned to go back inside the cabin when Will called his name: he jerked around, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

Will took a deep breath; after this, there was no turning back. He stepped out of the shadows, letting the afternoon sun bathe him in its golden light until he was fully visible.

"It's me Avery. Will Scarlett."

* * *

Azeem tensed as he heard the unmistakable sound of hooves beating down on the earthen floor. He readied himself and waited for the right moment. Just before the horse was about to pass him, he leapt out and sprung at the rider, grabbing at the saddle. The horse reared and the man, already startled by the painted man, tumbled backwards and to the ground. Azeem instantly let go of the saddle, knowing he would have no control, and the beast thundered off. _Thanks for teaching me that, Will._

He pulled out his sword and slowly approached the terrified man. "Perhaps you should start spilling your story, my friend."

* * *

Avery stood in stunned silence for a second after what he had just heard. A puzzled frown appeared on his face. "Will? Will!" The frown disappeared and the taller man ran over and gave his long-lost friend a breath-wrenching bear hug that could rival one of Little John's. 

"Will," he laughed, releasing his friend, "I can't believe it's you. Look at you! You look great!"

"So do you," Will laughed at his friend.

Avery's brown eyes lighted up with excitement. "Wow Will, you came just in time. Guess who I've got in there?"

"Who?" Will responded to the bait cheerfully, but his insides clammed up as he prepared himself. It was almost time for him to give his sales pitch, and he could only pray that it worked. Otherwise, the only way would be to have John and the others come in and slaughter his friend and his friend's men.

"Robin Hood." He gloated triumphantly. "Oh man, you should have been there when we took him down, it was the greatest…" he droned on, until Will cleared his throat.

"Uh, actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. Uh, well," Scarlett shifted his weight from foot to foot, "well, I wanted to know what you were planning on doing with him?" Will decided to go with an easier question in the beginning.

Avery smiled unpleasantly. "Oh, we're going to let the Sheriff take him off our hands for the full thousand gold pieces. Can you believe that? Some odd years ago he was looking down his nose at me, but I have the upper hand now…and it's full of gold." He laughed at his own joke.

"Do you have the gold yet?" Will quickly asked, seizing the opportunity before he choked.

"Not yet, but I sent Ulric to go tell Nottingham. I suspect the Sheriff will be here by morning."

"Avery, you have to let them go while there's still time!"

"Let Robin Hood go? What are you talking about Will?" the man shook his pleas off in confusion. "And what do you mean 'them'? How do you know there's more?"

"It doesn't matter how I know, but you have to let them go Avery, it's the only way you'll come out of this alive."

"What—come out of this alive—Will, I'm about to make a fortune," Avery sputtered.

"Let Robin Hood go, the Sheriff won't give you the money, the man's corrupt!"

"And you're telling me that this Robin Hood is not! Come on, Will, you know better than me what kind of a man he is."

Will exploded in his frustration. "Yes, I do know better than you! He's a good man, he's helping people! Nottingham won't give you the money, he'll just string you up right alongside Locksley." He spoke earnestly to his friend. "Now help me and help yourself and just let-them-go." He emphasized the last slowly, pleading with his friend. Avery took a step backwards, staring athim as if he was looking at him for the first time.

"What is the _matter_ with you? Will, you're starting to sound like one of Hood's men," he laughed uncomfortably, as if trying to make himself believe that Will was just playing one big, practical joke on him.

"I am one of his men." Will spoke softly but distinctly to his friend.

"You're what? Will how could you, do you remember what he _did_ to us?"

"To me, Avery, to me."

"Fine, to you. But he humiliated you, he mocked you, he—"

"Avery!" Will clenched his fists and his body shook as he fought to control his temper. "You do not know _half_ of what this man has done to me. But I'm telling you he's changed."

"No...no I think you're the one who's changed. Will Scarlett, I never thought I'd see the day that you would honestly defend that spoiled little _brat_." He stepped backwards as he spoke and his eyes hardened "You want Robin Hood so badly you can have him...but you're going to have to fight me for him."

"Avery, no I don't want to—" Will hopelessly protested, but the other just ignored him as he went to the cabin and signaled for the others to come out. Three of them came, glancing curiously in Will's direction. Avery handed them his sword.

"You're about to witness a thrashing, boys, of one of Robin Hood's men." Laughter stirred around the group as them men gathered to watch the fight. Thepoor menthat had gathered farther down in the village were urged to come and watch and they eagerly complied.

Avery turned to his old friend and drew out his dagger. Looking into his friend's eyes, Will saw that he was serious, and he reluctantly pulled his own dagger: the fight had begun.

Avery took a sideways step to the left, Will countered with a step to the right.The dark-haired man advanced with rapid steps, and Scarlett inched his way away from the other man's dagger, his own held secure but relaxed in his right hand. Avery waved his dagger threateningly in the air, Will sidestepped to avoid several close swipes and then he lunged, his dagger out with Avery mirroring his own defensive movements—no wonder, when they learned how to fight together. The man's eyes hardened as he waved the dagger almost to Will's eye level…and then he kicked out knocking the outlaw's blade to the ground!

Will jumped out of the way as Avery's blade slashed through the air. His old friend smiled as he started to circle around, Will desperately countering every move. Suddenly Avery lunged, his dagger arm thrust forward; Will grabbed the arm, and shoved the man in the same direction he had been moving, throwing the man completely off his balance so that he crashed to the ground. But Scarlett stood still a second too long, and Avery kicked him, sending him stumbling. They both got up at the same time, but as Avery ran to make up the several feet of distance, Will dropped so that his back connected directly under Avery's shins, flipping the man over. In the precious few seconds it took for Avery to recover (still holding his dagger, with which he miraculously hadn't nicked himself), Will quickly found and grabbed his own knife.

They went at each other, each thrusting his dagger out, only to be met with empty air. He wasn't making any progress this way, so Will quickly switched the blade to his left hand. He swiped once, twice, three times at the other's head; each time the cuts were evaded. Will swung his blade up just a little over Avery's head once more and as the man ducked, Will pelted him solidly in the face with his right fist.

Avery fell back, and Will leapt on top of him. After a moment of struggle, Will's blade was pressed against Avery's throat.

"I'm taking Hood and the boy, and none of your men are going to stop me. Are they?" He pressed the dagger a little closer to the neck, and Avery quickly—and carefully—nodded his consent. Will released his hold on Avery and clambered to his feet. He marched past the threesome and headed into the cabin, only to be stopped at the doorway by a fourth man, his sword out and ready.

"Avery!" he barked.

"Let him pass," Avery called out. Will shoved his way past the guard and strode over to the two prisoners, sitting on the cot in the corner, their hands tied behind them.

"Will!" Noah cried happily. Scarlett roughly pulled the boy towards him so he could cut the boy's hands free. He gave the same rough treatment to Locksley and then he muttered an angry "let's go" before he spun around and strode out the cabin, not bothering to see if they followed. They did.

Avery was just outside the door, the tall, imposing figure angrier than he had ever been. He stalked after the party, and in a hurt, seething rage at his once best friend, he began to hurl insults and threats.

"Fine, go ahead and throw your lot in with Locksley. See if I care! You'll be crawling back in no time. Either that or you'll be dead! You hear me! Locksley's a fool-" (Locksley for his part, didn't seem too interested in any of the insults Avery had for him, he just wanted to get out of there. Scarlett walked stonefaced, giving no sign he was even aware Avery was anywhere near him.) "and you're a fool to go with him. You're a fool, you hear me Will Scarlett!" His blood churned as Will ignored him and in a blind rage he shouted the rest, anxious to hurt his friend as much as he himself was hurting now.

"Will Scarlett. Anybody here know why he's called Scarlett?" he turned, his rage giving his movements an almost drunken appearance, but his eyes were sober and hard as he surveyed the crowd--his men, the villagers, and Locksley and the little boy were listening to him. Will had stopped short at Avery's question, but he kept his back to him, breathing heavily as he fought for control.

"Anybody know?" he questioned again, laughing as he pointed. "Nobody? Well, I'll tell you. They call him 'Scarlett' 'cause his mother was what they call a scarlet woman, a little harlot, a whore who probably didn't know who his father even was!" Except for Avery's derisive laughter, the village was deathly silent as Will turned around to address his antagonist. He was silent for a full, long, moment, and then he spoke, quietly and slowly, his voice even.

"Avery, I suggest you pack up and leave before Nottingham arrives in the morning and strings you up for wasting his time."

With that, he walked away, Locksley and Noah trailing after him. Just outside the village Azeem met them with the wagon and they climbed on for the ride back to Sherwood forest.


	13. Chapter 13

"Wow. Will, I'm impressed," Azeem murmured as they sidled up alongside his wagon.

Will ignored him. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to the unconscious man, arranged in a heap on the ground next to the wagon. Then he recognized him as the man who was sent to get the Sheriff.

"Oh, that's Ulric. He was sent to tell the Sheriff the good news. He didn't get very far. I left him alive because I thought we might have been able to find a use for him later on, when John and everybody arrived. But I see you have everything under control."

"It was incredible!" Noah exclaimed as he scrambled into the wagon. Azeem beckoned Will up, but Will shook his head and gestured that he would rather walk. Locksley decided to walk beside him. "I was riding behind Robin and all these men jumped us, and pulled us down. And all the time Robin's fighting like a crazy man, man he was great! And then we were taken to this cabin and they started to threaten Robin, but Robin wasn't scared, were you Robin?"

"I was pretty scared Noah," he informed the boy casually. Noah was so stunned by this revelation that he stopped talking for a full half a second.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying…" Noah resumed his narrative. Robin chuckled and Will smiled his amusement. Robin decided to use that as the ice-breaker.

"The boy's quite a little chatterer," he observed.

"That he is," Scarlett agreed.

Robin hesitated for a second before plunging ahead. "Listen, Scar—Will, thanks for...back there—getting me out of there andno doubtsaving my life."

"Well, you saved my life once," he answered coldly. "I owe you nothing now. Don't expect anymore from me."

"I didn't expect you to do this much." Will stopped short at that comment.

"I always repay a debt." He hurried on.

"Oh I'm sure of that," Robin hastened to amend. He truly was grateful and he wanted the man responsible for saving his life to know it.

"…and then as we were walking out, that man started running after us and he said some awful things to Will. It wasn't true Will, what he said about your mother. It wasn't true." He meant it to be a statement of fact, but everyone heard the question evident within. Will hesitated for a moment, but then walked on, taking great notice of the interesting ground ahead.

As tactless as only a child could be, Noah continued, his voice trembling as he desperately wished for his idol to deny the words. "She wasn't a scarlet woman, right Will? She wasn't, was she?" There was a heavy silence before Will answered.

"She was."

Before Azeem could shush him, Noah rushed on, desperate for his Will to be able to deny _something_ of that man's words. "But you weren't a…I mean, you weren't born a, uh, she wasn't"

"She wasn't one then," Will spoke sharply, knowing full well what Noah had been implying. "That...came after…when her luck changed." His voice had dropped to almost a whisper as he spoke the last words, lost in memory.

And to him it was true. She hadn't been a prostitute with his father, she had been in love. In _love._ And his father had cared for her once, at least cared more than if she were a common harlot.

They had walked in silence for a couple of steps now, with Robin and Azeem both quietly berating themselves for not shutting Noah up. But the damage was done.

Robin put a comforting arm across Will's shoulders and spoke gently to the young man. "She sounds like a woman who would do whatever it took to take care of her son. Whatever it took."

It was a beautiful thing to say, a caring thing. The thing that instantly brought comfort. The kind of comfort one would give to a brother…

Will stumbled to a halt. Robin compassionately stopped beside him to give whatever more comfort the man might need. Scarlett looked into the taller man's eyes

And punched him.

Square in the face.

Robin fell to the ground and Will leapt upon him and began to pound into him with everything he had. Locksley, after being stunned for a second, started to respond with a few punches of his own. Both were instantly lost in the brawl and were deaf to the pleas and shouts of Noah and Azeem.

"You're a fool, you know that Locksley? Walking into such a dumb trap and letting yourself get beaten by a bunch of poor dirty farm boys?" Robin merely grunted and hit him with several good blows. And then Robin was hauled back by Azeem, who after shouting once had instantly leapt down, tied the team to a tree, and proceeded to break up the fight.

"Now both of you, stop it right now!" he ordered. But before he or anyone else could say more, there came shouts and exclamations. It was John and the men racing up the road. Azeem quickly took Will by the arm and led him back to the wagon to cool down and ride for the rest of the trip.

"Noah!" Stephen ran and scooped his son into a bear hug.

"Father," Noah mumbled into his dad's shirt.

"Robin!" John boomed. "You're safe." He was leading the white stallion. "Found this running down the road." he smiled, then a frown appeared as he examined the man closer. "Are you all right?"

Robin winced and rubbed his jaw, glancing at Scarlett in the wagon.

"I was."


	14. Chapter 14

When they reached the safety of Sherwood forest, it was nearing morning, but everyone agreed that they could all rest up after the rather unusual night. Will was once again troubled by nightmares from memories of long ago.

"_See you later Will." the other boys called._

"_Can't you stay a little while longer?" he pleaded to his good friend._

"_It's late, I'm already going to be skinned alive as it is. You know that." Avery replied before he too took off._

_Yes, he knew that. But he didn't have to like it. Now all he could do was go home. He hated his home. It wasn't what a home was supposed to be._

_Wearily, he trudged down the road. Three years had passed after crossing paths with Robin of Locksley, and Will Scarlett had buried all dreams of his brother and a different life. He knew he would never be of the noble status of his father and brother, but he despised the profession-and social status-of his mother._

_She hadn't always been in this work. Will could dimly remember a time when she had worked with the other poor women in the fields. But she had never liked nor was good at that job, and she had still been young enough and pretty enough to discover a new line of work, a better paying kind of work. And since then, she had become the brooding, hateful, vengeful woman that Will would always remember. And despise._

_The door was ajar and Will knew he could go in, otherwise it would have been closed and bolted because 'it would be embarassing for my reputation if my son walked in on a customer'. And it was too late for any new customers. So he walked in, but...there was a man there. Both his mother and the stranger were fully clothed, he was very grateful for that. But a grimace crossed his features as he heard what they were arguing about: money. They were trying to decide how much his mother's body had been worth. He wanted to throw up, but he also wanted to scream and kick all the world in his anger at what had become of his mother._

"_That is not enough, sir," his mother repeated firmly to the man. "I am not some ordinary girl that you—"_

"_Oh but you are ordinary, my dear," the man leered contemptuously, slithering forward until he had Will's mother backed up against the wall, "you are a most common harlot, I can find one on every corner,and don't-you-forget-it," he warned, taking her small wrist and twisting her arm until she whimpered, just a little reminder of who was boss. "Now you will accept what you are paid." She nodded, venom in her eyes. _

"_Good," he said. Or rather, he tried to say, but at that moment Will broke the vase over the stranger's head and he fell limp to the ground. His mother gasped._

"_Are you all right mother?" the boy inquired gently._

_She stood transfixed for a moment, gazing at the scene, but when he put his hand on her arm, she snapped out of it and slapped him across the face. Hard._

"_You fool," she whispered angrily, "do you know who that is? He's a man with enough power to see us both hanged, that's who he is. You've endangered us both, and you've ruined my reputation! Idiot boy!" she screamed. "Get out! I might be able to save me, but I won't be able to save us both! Get out of this house, get out of this place, if you get out far enough,you just might get out _alive_!"_

Will woke up before the dream could continue, but he knew what happened. His mother had thrown him out the door. He had rushed to Avery's house, where his loyal friend had given him shelter for the night and food for the next day, because his mother had been right; men were looking everywhere for the little scamp that had clobbered the nobleman.

What a great friend Avery had been.

Everything inside Will wanted to scream that this was somehow Locksley's fault. But it wasn't, not really. For Will had had the choice of which friend to choose. And he had chosen…Locksley? Hours later, he admitted to himself, he still wasn't sure why. _Maybe I'm easily swayed by Locksley's charms myself,_ he chuckled, sure that couldn't possibly be the answer.

* * *

All right, that's the end of the four new chapters. Ahemm, press that little review button, four times please. )Hope you enjoyed these chapters, and I'll get the next one up in about a week. Thanks for reading, please review, and have a great day!


	15. Chapter 15

On the surface, the camp of Sherwood forest appeared to be back to its normal routine. And for most of the outlaws, the days passed the same way it always had. But for Will Scarlett, Robin of Locksley, and their few, close friends, the life inside Sherwood had ceased to be normal ever since the incident in Dorshire. Robin, at first, had tried calmly and rationally, to talk to Scarlett about that day. But Will had spurned every attempt. In fact, he had refused to talk to the man at all. Whenever Robin headed in his direction, Will found an excuse to leave. If he wanted to talk to Azeem or Fanny and found Robin there, the stubborn outlaw turned around and walked away. Robin, in turn, grew angry as his friendly actions were rebuffed again and again. It seemed the two of them had gone right back to where they had started, with their friends caught in the middle.

Little Noah couldn't bear what was happening to his two idols. Before the two had at least talked and Noah hadn't really comprehended that they hated each other. Now however, he couldn't help but notice when his parents and others were all whispering about it, or when he himself saw Will walk away from Robin Hood. He felt guilty because everything had been fine until he had ridden on Robin's horse and then they had been captured. He didn't want his two friends to be mad at each other because of him. One day he told Scarlett just that.

"Will, it wasn't Robin's fault we got captured. He tried to fight them, there were just too many, and he _did_ try to protect me. _Please_ don't hate him because of me."

"Oh, Noah, it's not because of you," the young man quickly leapt to ease the boy's misery. "It's not because of you at all."

"Then why do you hate him?"

Will hesitated as he struggled to find the words to answer the blunt question. "I don't hate him, I just…I'm trying to figure things out," he said at last, feeling more comfortble to say the truth to a child not an adult.

Noah was not the only one who voiced his concerns to Scarlett. Fanny expressed her disapproval but he easily dismissed her words from his mind. She was always lecturing him. No, the words that really stuck out in his mind were those of Azeem's a few days later.

Azeem hated this, but he knew that things couldn't continue on like this between Will and Robin. Sooner or later, somebody or something would tip the scales, the battle lines would be drawn, and…he would have to choose sides. In all honesty, he had known in the back of his mind that he might have to do this, but he had always been hopeful. When Will had pretty much volunteered to go scout out Dorshire, the painted man had hoped that the young outlaw had wanted to help Noah _and_ Robin. And when Will returned with Noah _and Robin_, he had thought that pretty much confirmed it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the ever-present tension around his shoulders ease slightly. There they were, his two friends walking alongside the wagon, talking and laughing with each other. Everything was fine, the future looked bright and promising. It was finally over.

And then he had seen the anger flare once more in Scarlett's eyes and Azeem had known just as the first punch was thrown that it would never be over. He didn't understand the reasons why this was so, but he knew he couldn't just stand aside and let it happen. Not anymore.

"Will, can I talk to you?" he asked, gesturing for the young man to join him. Will dropped the work he had been doing and joined Azeem as he strode out of the camp and, in the process, out of the earshot of any of the other outlaws.

"Now how may I help you?" Scarlett asked with a smile, but he sobered when he saw the other's serious face.

"I want to talk to you about Robin."

"What about him?" Will asked, instantly tensing and a definite defensive edge to his voice.

"This has to stop between you two."

"What has to stop?" he decided to feign innocence.

"This…feud. It must stop and it must stop now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Will shook his head and moved a step away, hoping to end the conversation.

"Will, just go talk to him and try to sort this thing out."

"No."

"Will, you're being childish!"

"It's none of your business what I'm being, Azeem! This doesn't concern you."

"You're wrong, it concerns me Will," he responded slowly, getting his emotions back at a distant level. "You told Robin that you were free of your life debt to him. Well, I am not."

"I don't understand you," Scarlett said uneasily, though he thought he understood pretty well.

"You hate him, I don't know why you do but you do, and if you threaten his safety," he took a deep breath, "I will be forced to remember my debt to Robin." The words themselves weren't that exciting or fear-inducing, but they told the facts to Will in no uncertain terms.

The young man closed his eyes and didn't respond. Azeem stood there, uncomfortable and unsure of what to do next. He hesitated for a second, but then he decided it best to leave the other alone for a while, and so he left. Scarlett just stood there as his friend's words started to sink in.

_What's happening? Everything is falling apart._ For the second time in the space of a a few short weeks, he was losing a good friend. And all because of Locksley. He had lost his friendship with Avery because he had been too friendly with Robin, and now he was losing his friendship with Azeem because of his…hatred for Robin? What _is going on? How can I like _and_ hate the exact same person? It's not possible._

So which one was it? Did he like or dislike Locksley? But no, Will didn't really want to analyze his feelings all that much. It was all too confusing. He didn't know much of anything. Except… Will's mind started to wander off and analyze before he even realized it, and an answer popped into his head. Maybe he was just scared. Just plain scared. For so long, he had kept that hatred inside him, an internal, angry flame that had kept him going for all those years. It had become such a part of him, consumed so much that Will was afraid to let it go. Afraid that all that was left behind would be just…emptiness. Better to have hatred than nothing, right. Right?

* * *

"Robin! Someone's coming!" the lookout shouted; all heads turned. "All is well, it's Duncan." Everyone that was close ran towards the figure on horseback making its way into the camp. Robin and Azeem gently pulled Duncan from the horse. 

"Duncan! Duncan, what happened?"

"I found you Robin. Thank God I did it. Nottingham's men attacked us."

"Marian?" Robin demanded.

"They took her." The old man appeared to faint from exhaustion, Will saw. Suddenly though, the arrows were flying all around them.

"What is it?" John yelled up.

"Over there!" several lookouts screamed down, waving their hands frantically. Will turned, and another outlaw voiced what all of them saw.

"Celts."

Azeem had taken out his seeing contraption, but now he slowly pulled it away from his eye. "Allah be merciful," he whispered.

There was a moment of an almost unreal stillness, as if everyone were waiting to wake up from this, before Bull yelled at them all.

"To the trees!" That was all it took for everyone to scramble up and away from the thousands of Celts lining the hills.

Will shook his head as a thought crossed his mind.

"Poor old fool led them straight to us."

He had been right; Duncan's leaving had endangered them all. He should have been exultant, every word shouting his triumph, this was now proving everything that he had ever said or thought about Locksley. He should have been gloating, but he wasn't. Instead, he said the words quietly and almost with a hint of regret, as if he wished he hadn't been right. He watched for a moment as his words dawned on Locksley himself before he took off for the safety of the trees. He grabbed one of the extra swords piled about, mentally cursing himself for not having his when he needed it.

He quickly climbed the ladder and turned to give the others a hand. As he helped one up, a man he had previously aidedgrabbed Scarlett's sword that he had setaside, not realizing it was already taken. Will didn't have time to go find another one so he quickly unsheathed his dagger.

The Celts were coming; the outlaws' arrows were flying everywhere. With only his dagger, Will would have to wait until they were almost on top of them. He didn't have to wait long; the Celts were racing up the ladders to try to reach the men up top. Will pushed the ladder away, taking a few of the barbarians along with it.

The whole camp fought hard, and for a moment it looked like the enemy had had enough as they fled away. But then the arrows and balls of flame shot towards them, and chaos erupted as now the outlaws fled for safety. Will managed to get to the ground, but he was instantly attacked by a Nottingham soldier. He fought wildly and managed to defeat the other man, but turned to face not one but thee soldiers fully armed with crossbows. He was captured.

* * *

As you probably figured out by now, I'm back in the storyline. I really never left it—I was just filling in the gaps—but I thought y'all might need a little encouragement to review. Same with the threat of major/minor character death. Oh wait, I still have to kill off Noah. So anyway, just wanted to let y'all know that Journey through Sherwood is still in the same storyline as Prince of Thieves, and will continue to be. Thanks for all the reviews, please don't stop, next chapter will probably be up in the next two weeks, and have a great day. Don't forget to review! Please don't forget! I love them: ) 


	16. Chapter 16

He was marched out of the outlaw camp, his hands tightly bound in front of him. He wasn't alone though: many, many prisoners were being escorted back to Nottingham. The soldiers allowed them to mingle a little bit and everyone was trying to find their family and friends within the throng. Will scanned around, but he couldn't see Azeem, Fannny, or Noah. _**Thank God**_. But there was Fanny's boy, Wulf, the one who admired Locksley so much. Will didn't like him all that much (and he had a feeling it was mutual), but he _was_ Fanny's boy and…well, he shouldn't be here. It wasn't going to be pretty.

Scarlett shook his head as the conversations of others drifted his way. There was a rumor going about that Robin had been killed trying to flee from the fires, but Will refused to believe it.Robin of Locksley wouldn't die by a lousy fire. And they were just rumors.Probably started by the soldiers anyway.

"Will!"

"Noah!" Will's heart dropped down to the pit of his stomach as he heard the boy's voice. He scanned around and finally spotted Noah. Quickly, he forced his way through the torrent of prisoners to reach the boy's side. He gave the lad as close to a hug as he could manage with his hands secured together. "Noah, where are you parents?"

Noah's bottom lip trembled, just slightly, but he answered bravely. "I don't know. We were together, and then all these people started running away, and they were pushing us and running into us, and then I turned around and they weren't there. But they're all right though," he added quickly, "they'll be coming to get us any time now."

Will didn't reply to this for a second, but then he nodded encouragingly and they walked on in silence for a while.

"Where are they taking us?" Noah asked without any trembling to his voice, his natural curiosity overcoming his fear for the moment.

"Nottingham, I suspect. The Sheriff might want to meet all us famous outlaws." He gave a little smile.

"Yeah, and you even have a price on your head," the boy added eagerly.

"Oh, yeah," Will echoed. "Let's not tell anyone else about that, okay?" he advised, a real grin spreading over his face this time.

Noah responded with a sheepish smile of his own. "Okay."

* * *

It was night when they finally passed through the gates of Nottingham Castle. All the children were so tired, they had walked such a long way and the soldiers hadn't allowed them a moment of rest. All of them were bearing it bravely, though—especially Noah, Scarlett determined. He had never once complained, and had been determined not to show any weariness. _Stubborn kid,_ Will thought with pride.

Movement drew Will's eye up. He scowled when he saw the Sheriff watching them being herded in like cattle. _Disgusting, cruel, evil little nobleman._ There was also, Will squinted, someone with him—Marian. Before he could figure out what they were doing up there, the Sheriff yelled down at one of the guards.

"The children!"

Instantly, the soldier began gathering up a couple of the kids. Will silently took hold of Noah's arm. The soldier only had three kids; he looked around for some more.

"You there, come with me."

Will kept hold and guided Noah along as if they hadn't heard, hoping the soldier would just turn and find another.

**"Hey!"** No such luck. The soldier walked over and stepped in front of them, forcing the two to stop.

"Come with me." He grabbed Noah's arm and started to lead him away, but Noah jerked out of his grasp and grabbed Will's hands.

"Will!" Will held on tight. The soldier stormed forward and Will kicked out with one foot, connecting solidly with the man's gut. As the man hunched over, he lashed out again, hitting him under the chin which snapped the man's head painfully up and back. Others were on the scene instantly. One wrapped his arms around Noah's small frame and started to pull him away. Their grips were weakening, fast. _Please no. No!_

"Noah!"

"Will!"

The boy was too weak and little, Will couldn't grasp firmly with both hands bound together. As two soldiers came and held Scarlett firmly in place, the other was able to pull Noah farther and farther, Will was clenching the wrists—_please no_--, now the hands—_Noah_--the fingers—_God please no_—empty air.

"Will!" the boy almost screamed as he was hauled away. Will could only watch as he was led up the stairs with the other children. To the Sheriff. To the evil, half-crazed Sheriff. _Oh, Noah. I'm so sorry. _He barely even registered the first blow as the soldier he had kicked began to exact his revenge. It was a while before he was herded into the grisly dungeon with the rest of the men.


	17. Chapter 17

The dungeon was dark, cramped, and filled with the foulest stenches imaginable. Those unfortunate enough to be on the lower level were standing in the revolting slop the guards had the utmost delight in hauling and dumping on the prisoners. It was in every way...a dungeon.

For Will, the guard he had struck took his final act of revenge by stringing him up by his ankles, leaving him hanging upside down. The pain from all the blood rushing to his head was annoying, to say the least—excruciating, to say the most.

But at least he hadn't been tortured yet. The most he could moan about was the gigantic headache and a couple of sore ribs from his bout with the soldier earlier, but that was it. He had just been left to hang there, and with nothing else to do, his thoughts often turned to Noah, and in the long, mind-numbing stretch of almost boredom in the dark cell, his imagination began to invent all sorts of terrible things. And with the evil Sheriff, any of them could be true.

And when his thoughts weren't on Noah, they were on Azeem, Stephen, Fanny, and—okay, he admitted it—Robin. So many of the others claimed they had seen Locksley die. And he couldn't…just die. Not just like that.

* * *

"Sorry to keep you all _hanging_ about," the Sheriff cheerfully apologized as he swept into the dungeon. Will didn't even glance up. _Ha ha._

The Sheriff began to circle around the prisoners, teasing them with the amount of power he held, his hawk eyes brightening with glee—or was that insanity? _And this guy holds Noah's life in his hands? And all of ours? _The man next to him whimpered as the Sheriff neared and he groveled for Nottingham to spare him. _Despicable._

"Now I have heard that Robin Hood may still be alive."

_What? He's heard that Robin…**is** alive? _

"Either tell me where he may be hiding, or you'll all be hanged and we'll find him anyway and do the same thing to him."

_And if we tell you, you'll still hang us,_ Will wanted to snap back. _But…maybe there's another way…_

"I'd love to kill him for you." _You know, it's easy to lie when you're halfway telling the truth. He got us into this mess._ The statement had definitely gotten the Sheriff's attention. It had also gotten the attention of Wulf, who shouted from below "Will, no!"

"So he is alive then." The Sheriff eyed the upside-down man threateningly.

"I'm not really sure." _It's not going to be that easy, Sheriff._

"Then why would I need you?" Nottingham sneered.

"Because, my Lord, if he is alive, I could get close to him. I'm one of his men." His voice became earnest, "He would never suspect me."

"He knows you always hated him, traitor!" Wulf yelled at him.

"Shut up!" they both yelled, but inwardly Will smiled. _Good, now the Sheriff will believe I am on his side. Thanks a lot, Wulf._

"He's a trusting fool. He'll believe me and if he doesn't he'll kill me. And then you've lost nothing." The Sheriff liked it, but hehad to have the final word on the scheme. He settled on a good old threat.

"If you fail I will personally remove your lying tongue." Will wanted to spit as the man tilted his head around so that his threat would have more impact on the prisoner.

"But if I succeed, I want my freedom and the b…" he wanted to demand the boy the Sheriff had taken, but no, that would be too soon. Too untraitorish. "and the...bounty on his head."

Nottingham frowned at his suggestion. "The lash, I think," he ordered one of the guards. He turned back to Will. "Sorry about that, but it'll make it more convincing." And with that he left. The guard walked forward with the lash; the man next to him whimpered as the guard passed.

For his part, Will did his best not to make a sound as the whip descended on his stomach: he knew he would get no sympathy from the other prisoners. In their eyes, he was a traitor, about to destroy their beloved leader—he deserved everything he got. So he tried not to make a sound, but he couldn't hold back a few hisses and a couple curses as the lash continued to fall.

After that, he was freed from his shackles, boy did he hurt when the blood rushed once again to his feet. The Sheriff returned and demanded to hear the others disown Robin Hood. Ten men refused and instead swore their loyalty to him. Strangely, Nottingham didn't seem upset by those men. Rather, he looked pleased and eager. It didn't take Scarlett long to find out why.

"These men," the Sheriff informed Will, "are to be hanged as a wedding present for Lady Marian. Tell Hood this," he grinned devilishly, "right before you kill him and let him **die** knowing he failed. Go! And bring me back Hood's body!"

The guards hustled him out of the dungeon, and quickly threw him, literally, off of the castle grounds. Will pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the pain from his open wounds. He held an arm to the cuts, pressing the shirt in to stop the blood. He turned to look at the castle, half-hoping he would see a certain little boy peering out of a window. It would have certainly made things easier if he knew which room he was in. But there was no one peering out, and so he turned his back on the castle, and started the trek back to Sherwood forest.

* * *

I am **so so so**sorry that this is another short chapter, and I'm sorry that it took so long to get up. Computer problems kept me from even starting the chapter for several days, but it's mostly fixed now. And I really, really hope that the next chapter will be up very soon. Thanks for being patient with me, **and keep sending those reviews**! Thanks and have a great day! 


	18. Chapter 18

Fog was swirling through the forest. Will stumbled along, his wounds screaming at him whenever he tripped in the darkness. Tired, hungry, legs aching, chest and stomach screaming, it was the longest walk he had ever taken. He had never thought it was this far back to the camp.

But in a way, he was glad it was taking so long; he had no idea what he'd say when he first saw Robin. Heck, he didn't even know what to think. Everything had been happening too quickly, everything moving too rapidly, that his emotions were all swept along and jumbled together in the wake, leaving him in disarray.

"Aww!" Scarlett tripped and barely managed to keep himself on his feet; the pain from his cuts making him wince. He turned around to see what had caused the stumble, and started when he saw a dead Celt looking straight back into his eyes. Will shivered at the sickening sight, but he now knew that he was close. A couple of other soldiers appeared as he walked, and there were places where it looked like bodies had been, but evidently had been moved. He walked further and through the slowly dissipating fog he saw where the bodies had been moved; the ground was littered with freshly-dug graves and wooden markers. He gazed along the row of graves and then he froze.

There. There he stood. Robin of Locksley. _I'm not ready for this,_ Will thought to himself desperately. But still he squared his shoulders and stepped forward into view.

Robin was taking a sip of water. Will's movements must have caught his eye; he glanced over and as he grasped who was standing there, he jumped up.

"Will!" he called out. Will just stood there, not knowing how to respond. He was so confused, his emotions were still all jumbled together. All he really felt was that he didn't want to tell Robin about tomorrow. In the back of his mind, a voice whispered to him that once he told him, Robin would turn tail and run for it. The voice in his mind gloated that his prediction all those months ago would finally come true and he should be happy. But a small voice in his heart wished sadly that it would not be so, that his…that _Locksley_ would prove true.

"I thought you were taken." Robin's voice filtered through Will's busy mind. Not trusting himself to anything more yet, the young outlaw answered the question with a blunt, straightforward reply.

"I was."

A puzzled frown crossed Robin's features, he had expected a longer response. He decided to expand his comment to a question. "How did you escape?"

Will just absently nodded his head, knowing that this was the time he had to tell him, but still trying to avoid it. Angry with his own reluctance, he quickly gathered his courage and was about to open his mouth and spill the news when a loud voice pierced the air.

"**TRAITOR!" **

Will had just turned his head when John was upon him, grabbing and punching the boy even as Will tried to move away. All the while the man was screaming. "I'll ring your scrawny neck for you Will Scarlett!"

That was all Will could understand as the heavy blows rained down upon him. He gasped as the man's full force equally shoved and punched him all over his aching body. The others were all rushing up, yelling questions and only adding to the chaos. For one second, John released his hold on him as the Friar tried to stop the man with his own considerable size. But John was in such a rage that he knocked Tuck down. John jumped back on Will, and this time Scarlett fell to the ground.

"Get a rope!" John cried. Bull had one in his hands: without pausing for a moment, he swung the rope over an overhead branch, ready to string Will up at any second.

"Where's my son? Where's my son!" John demanded as he struggled to get Will to the rope. Will fought as wildly as he could manage, knowing John would surely kill him. Agony seared through him when John, trying to pull Will up by the shirt, instead ripped the garment away, exposing the angry red welts across his stomach and chest. Scarlett groaned at the pain and went still for a long moment. John could easily have overpowered the boy right then, but he could only stare in shock at the wounds. Will watched him carefully, his eyes those of a wild creature, cornered and wary. He struggled to endure the pain, gasping for every breath.

"Let him speak," the leader of Sherwood ordered.

Robin looked at the lashes impassively; Will covered them with the tattered remains of his shirt, instinct still driving him to not show any weakness in front of Locksley.

"I bring a message from Nottingham." Anger over all of this was making the words now pour easily from his mouth. He turned away from Robin to confront the others: John, Fanny, and Bull. "Our men are to be hung in the square at high noon tomorrow."

"What about my boy?" She asked frantically.

Will couldn't be mad at Fanny. He lowered his gaze to stare at the ground, wishing he didn't have to give the news to his friend. "The boy too." She whimpered; John held her and she sobbed into his arms.

"Ten men in all." He watched Robin's stony gaze transform into sorrow as he took in Will's words. Will's gaze shifted from person to person as he spoke the next words, occasionally needing to pause for breath. "The, uh, hangings are to be part of the celebration for the Sheriff's marriage."

Bull looked up in surprise at that bit of information. "Marriage? To who?"

Will answered Bull's question, but his eyes and his words were directed to only one person. He needed to see his reaction.

"Lady Marian."

The others all began to murmur. "He takes a bride of Royal blood," the friar began; John finished the thought for him.

"Aye, and with King Richard gone, he'll be after the bloody throne."

But Will didn't pay any attention to them. His gaze was focused entirely on Locksley. Robin was staring back at him, his face expressionless, only a slight narrowing of the eyes acknowledging he had heard at all. Will couldn't even begin to guess what was going through his mind. Locksley took a step forward and spoke, his voice betraying none of what he felt.

"You were to use this news to get close to me and then kill me, right Will?" His expression remained stoic, deadly.

Will didn't reply per se. With a wan grin, he quietly laughed at himself. He should have known Robin was smart enough to figure things out that fast. At least smarter than the Sheriff gave him credit for.

Robin was not amused. "What are your intentions?" he inquired, his face a stony, impassive mask.

Anger that had been throbbing inside him since he had been captured, no ever since Locksley had first set foot in the forest, suddenly flared up and Will, tired, aching, beaten, and just plain fed up with everything, couldn't contain himself any longer. He staggered to his feet.

"Well, that depends on you, Locksley."

Azeem heard the danger in those words and could see that Will was losing control. He didn't want to, he wished he wouldn't have to, but nonetheless he had to prepare himself: he uneasily fingered his sword. _Allah be merciful,_ he pleaded. _Don't make me do this._

"I never trusted you, that's no secret." Will wanted to vent his anger, pressure that had been building up inside him ever since the first day Locksley had strode into the forest and turned his life upside down. "But what I want to know is, are you going to finish what you've started? I want to know if he's gonna turn and run like the spoiled little rich boy I always took him for." There was more than anger seeping into his voice, and despite all Will did to try to control them, his pent-up, disregarded emotions from the past few days—the past few months—were now struggling to break free, and Will couldn't keep them at bay for much longer.

Robin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Once again, Will was accusing him, after _all_ this time, the man still hated him with the same passion and intensity as the first time they'd met. He was tired of this, so tired. He shook his head, not understanding anything, and sick of all the accusations Will heaped upon him.

"Did I wrong you in another life, Will Scarlett?" He walked forward until he was only a few feet away from the man. Something sparked behind the other's eyes and he pressed on, his own anger feeding into his voice. "What does this intolerable hatred for me come from?"

He had expected to get a sarcastic comment thrown back in his face, or at the very least, an angry diatribe about the evils of all nobles. He never expected what came next.

Will swallowed hard, and a hundred emotions flashed through his eyes as he stared at Robin. But then he turned away and Robin could see the struggle taking place within him, but he didn't understand what was happening. But he almost took a step backwards himself when Will turned back to him, his eyesflooding withanger and…pain. Hurt. They drilled into his own with an intensity that startled him.

"From knowing that," the young outlaw swallowed, "that our father loved _you_ more than me."

"Our father?" Robin looked at the others in confusion.

"We are brothers, Robin of Locksley."

He didn't want to go on, why did _this_ man deserve the truth? But then he saw Robin exchange a glance of disdain and disbelief with John, and then he _wanted_ this man to know the truth, _needed_ the man to know, he _had_ to wipe that smirk off his face.

"I am the son of the woman-" Robin grabbed the younger manand shook him with a ferocity that even _he_ didn't know he had. Pain tore through Will as his wounds were jostled, but his anger overrode everything else. "-who replaced your dead mother for a time! It was your anger that drove them apart!"

"That's a lie!" Robin shouted in his face.

"It's not a lie!" Will yelled back. **"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"** Silence followed this last part. Robin dropped his hold on Scarlett as the man's words sunk in. Everyone believed him now, the hatred and pain radiating from the young man could not be an act.

So that was the truth then, Azeem thought to himself, the reason why Will had despised Locksley since the first moment he had walked into camp. Robin had driven the boy's father and mother apart. But then Azeem thought of what Will had said of his mother, what she had become, and his heart broke for Will. And for Robin, who had started it all.

It seemed as though Robin had thought of the exact same things, and the guilt in his posture and expression was plain for all to see. He couldn't look Will in the eye, he kept staring at the ground, and every once in a while darting a quick glance at Will's face. Will had lowered his head, breathing heavily as he fought to get his emotions under more control. His head was screaming at him that this was useless—Locksley didn't deserve to hear the truth, he had had no right to demand answers. But then the voice in his heart whispered that he had already started to tell the truth, now he should finish it. Tell it all. Will listened. He looked up at Robin.

"I have more reason to hate you than anyone." _Tell the truth. All of it_. "But I found myself daring to believe in you," he whispered _so_ softly. So softly. "What I want to know brother," Robin swallowed at the gentle use of the word, "is will you stay with us and finish what you've started?"

Robin gazed at him in wonder, studying his face as if it was that of a stranger's. "I have a brother?" he murmured incredulously. Will's eyes pleaded, begged him to believe he was telling the truth, he meant every word he had said and despite all that he tried to do to convince himself otherwise, he _wanted_ Robin to believe him. Locksley stared off in the distance for a moment, then he turned back to Will.

"I have a brother!" Robin pulled Will to his chest and wrapped his arms gently around the boy's head and neck. Will was too stunned to return the embrace, but his eyes instantly clouded with unshed tears. This was the brother he had always wanted, had used to dream of as a child. The one he thought would never be.

Robin stepped back quickly, but when Will tried to look down so Locksley wouldn't see his weakness, Robin took Will's chin in his hands, forcing Scarlett to look him straight in the eye, and the young man saw that Robin's own eyes were filled with tears. Robin kept hold of him, he wanted Will to believe this; he spoke softly and firmly. "I'll make my stand with you, side by side. Until the end." Will nodded, swallowing hard. He believed his brother. He believed _in_ his brother.

The others voiced their agreement to Robin's last statement. Azeem didn't say anything, he just watched his two friends in satisfaction. His two friends, the archenemies, the bitter rivals, brothers all along. Robin glanced at him when he hadn't spoken and Azeem gravely nodded his confirmation of his friend's next words.

"We finish this."

* * *

There's chapter eighteen. Please don't hate me! I've dreaded writing this, because this is the best part in the movie, and I knew I would never do it justice. I tried my best, though,and if you don't like it, feel free to say so, but please don't hate me. I tried, honest. Okay, next chapter will be up...soon. Please review, if you liked it or didn't like it, please review. (Review even if you hate me, I will still lovegetting areview!) Have a great day!


	19. Chapter 19

It was _very_ uncomfortable immediately following Robin and Will's mending of ways. As soon as Robin had stepped away from his brother, he had no idea what to say and Will had no idea what to do. One of them would start to say something, and then he'd change his mind. The other would turn triumphantly, the words ready to spring out of his mouth, before he too stopped and mulled over them once again.

The others weren't much help either. Bull had a completely flabbergasted expression on his face, John just looked at a loss for words, and the Friar wasn't one to step in and take the lead. Azeem _was_ one to take the lead, but he wouldn't say anything, just watched the two brothers in satisfaction and more than a little amusement.

The silence lengthened, and Robin and Will continued to grow more and more uncomfortable, until finally Fanny stepped out of her husband's reassuring embrace and walked over to Scarlett.

"Come on, Will, let me take a look at those," she said, indicating the gashes only partially hidden by his tattered shirt. The two brothers both smiled their relief at moment's tension being broken up. Fanny took him by the hand and the younger brother gratefully allowed himself to be led off to the remains of the Little lodge.

---

"Ow," Will hissed as Fanny wiped away the grime that had built up inside the cuts. Fanny murmured an apology. She finished cleaning the dirt away and she did her best to bandage the wounds up, with the little supplies available. Will tried not to groan at the pain.

"There, all done."

"Thanks," Will tried to smile at his friend, but it died before it began. It was an awkward moment between the two—moments ago, Fanny's husband had almost killed Will, and Fanny herself had believed Will to be a traitor. She knew the truth now, but then it was Will who was embarrassed, embarrassed for having spilled all his innermost secrets in front of all of them.

But that wasn't all that made it uncomfortable. In the back of Fanny's mind she was angry at Will for being alive. For being alive and safe. Angry at him for being alive and safe when her own boy was about to die. She didn't want to think like that, but she couldn't _not_, and Will, as in tune with her feelings as ever, sensed this, and he had absolutely no idea what to do, what to say, except—

"I'm sorry, Fanny." He studiously ignored her gaze, keeping his eyes and his hands focused on arranging his shirt back around his wounds. Fanny studied him, and with his words her motherly envy and anger dissipated. She took his hands, stilling his movements.

"It's not your fault," she said, forcing herself to believe the words as she spoke them. Because it wasn't his fault, and Fanny had no right to blame him. Will had only barely escaped himself, he was willing to go back in and help the others, _and_ he had even spilled his guts to Robin to make sure the others would be rescued.

Will stood up, his eyes blazing with determination, glad to be on familiar ground with at least one person again. "We'll get Wulf back, Fanny. I promise." _We'll get him back, even _**if**_ I don't like him._

Fanny smiled. "Well, if I know my husband and your brother, and I do, they've already found a way to do it on their own and take _all_ the glory for themselves. We better go set them straight." Will laughed and accompanied her out of the Little's makeshift lodging.

---

The afternoon was waning, but the six remaining outlaws were diligently at work trying to figure out the plan of attack. As John and Robin busily carved out ideas and wood, Will could only shake his head at the model of the castle grounds, quickly hashed together with chunks of wood and rocks.

Boom!

Scarlett jumped in shock as something exploded nearby. _What was that_? he thought, only to hear it be echoed aloud by Bull. Glancing around, he shook his head as he saw Friar Tuck and Azeem busily kneeling by some black powdery stuff and a fire. _Azeem and his inventions._

Robin was talking. Will hastily walked over, grabbed a sword and squatted down beside him, John, and Bull to hear the plan. Robin was gesturing around the castle model with his jewel-encrusted dagger—the dagger Marian had given him the day she had visited the camp and also the dagger he had since then never let out of his sight.

"Bull, you'll position by the gate to cut off reinforcements. John, you'll sit on this wall to protect our escape. I will conceal myself here, below the scaffold, to cut our men from their nooses at the signal."

Will frowned. That was a waste for Robin. "No," he objected as Locksley moved around him to get another angle at the castle grounds. "I'll do that, you can cover us with your bow." _And I'll finally get to put the sword skills Azeem has taught me to use._

Robin patted him on the knee; Will almost laughed at how quickly Locksley took up the big brother protective role. "It's too dangerous Will."

Now Will did laugh. "But so's your aim." Robin glanced back at him, surprised at the compliment. Scarlett was relieved to hear John chuckle at his riposte; before John had still been a bit leery of him. And in all honesty, Will hadn't been all that lovey-dovey either, after John had just tried to kill him.

Robin continued, "Whatever Azeem is concocting, we must be in place for. Now, our success depends on total concert, you are only six men—"

"—Seven!" Fanny defiantly strode into view, a sword firmly held in her hands.

"What in blazes are you doing, woman?" John demanded. "Where are the little ones?"

"They're safe, they're with my mother."

"Are you bleeding cracked girl, you could get hurt!" Needless to say, John was not happy.

"I've given birth to eight babies, don't you talk to me about getting hurt, you big ox!" Will nobly tried to suppress his laughter as Fanny continued to 'set them straight.' "Anyway, I'm not just going to sit here and let one of them die, am I!"

"You should be bloody well minding the other seven," John tried to make it sound like an order, but Fanny's huff of disregard made it sound more like a lungful of hot air. "Tell her, Robin," John pleaded.

Will could tell that Robin was thinking about it, and even though Will had only been Robin's ally for a couple of hours, he could just guess what was coming. He was right.

"Fanny, you'll take position here."

---

Night was falling fast in Sherwood forest. The remaining outlaws were scattered about, sleeping. Robin was awake, staring unseeingly in to the dark forest. After trying again and again to quiet his mind and after finally admitting defeat, he got up to work off some of his energy. There was just too much to think about. Tomorrow, tomorrow was going to be awful. Six men—seven, as Fanny put it—were all that stood between the entire legions at Nottinham's disposal and the deaths of ten innocent men and a wedding. Robin knew his men would do their best. They were going to fight hard, they were going to fight well, but… they were going to ultimately fail. Even if they succeeded in freeing the men, there was no way they could rescue Marian. The Sheriff would be watching her every move, and if he himself wasn't watching her, he was sure to have guards all around her. Six men couldn't take them all out.

Robin walked along, still musing over the plan for tomorrow, when a voice cried out in the night. Locksley whirled, his dagger out and ready to confront the danger, but there was nothing there. More cries followed on the heels of the first one, but these were softer, less audible, just agitated murmurings. Looking around, Robin finally made out the outline of a body nearby. He walked over and knelt down beside the person. For some reason, he wasn't surprised to find that the body was that of Will Scarlett.

"Will. Will!" an urgent voice whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes and flinched instinctively as Robin's face appeared inches from his own.

"You all right?" he inquired.

"I'm fine," Will sat up.

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, a disbelieving tone to his voice.

"It was just a dream, that's all. No big deal." There was no way he was going to tell Robin about that dream.

"Sounded like a nightmare from the way you were muttering."

"Just drop it, all right. I'm fine," Will said sharply, regretting the harshness of the words as soon as they left his mouth.

"Okay, all right," Robin held his hands up in a gesture of total surrender, hoping to amend for whatever slight he had unintentionally thrown at his brother.

Scarlett sat up, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. _That was great, Will, fantastic. He tries to be nice and you snap his head off. Why would I—okay, I know why, I've done that ever since we first met_._ But things need to change here and now. He's your brother, after all._

"So, what are you doing up so late?" He switched topics with a friendly tone of voice, hoping to show his good intentions to Locksley.

Robin was only too eager to accept the invitation for peaceful conversation once again. "I was just thinking about tomorrow, trying to see if there's anything I've overlooked."

"It's a good plan, it'll work."

Robin snorted. "A good plan, six men—

"Seven," Will reminded him, smiling.

"Seven," Robin waved a hand dismissively in the air, "swooping in and saving ten men from certain death, storming an entire castle full of soldiers, and escaping with the Sheriff's bride-to-be. Yeah, it'll go off without a hitch."

"But with Azeem's black stuff—"

"Azeem's concoctions, a couple bows and some arrows, and a few swords to take on a hundred of the Sheriff's goons. Oh, it'll be bad."

Will sighed. "You're right, our weapons are so few…," he began gloomily, but then a mischievous gleam entered his eyes, although the darkness concealed it from the other outlaw. He continued, "but there's one true weapon that escapes you, Robin. And that's courage."

Robin jerked up at the all-too-familiar words, and a reproachful expression crossed his features. Chastised, he could only stare at the ground. Finally he found the words and he spoke sincerely to his brother, "I'm sorry, Will. I shouldn't have said those things to you—"

"Locksley, lighten up! It was a joke," Will replied, laughter and exasperation intermingling in his voice as he slowly enunciated the words so that Robin would understand them. _Man, I finally try to be nice…_

"I still shouldn't have said those things to you. You are not and never were a coward."

Will shook his head. "You were getting even. I was just mouthing off to you, and you insulted me right back. Don't worry about it." Will brushed it off, having had enough outpouring of emotion for one day. He thought of how much he had revealed and to how many people; the thought made him shudder.

"You sure?"

Will nodded affirmative.

"Okay, then," Robin couldn't hold back a yawn, his energy finally being spent. "I think I'm going to turn in." He stood up and clapped Will on the shoulder as he walked away.

"Good night," Will called.

"Hey, Will," Robin turned back. He had been meaning to say something to the other when they finally had a moment of privacy, wanted to say something deep and meaningful so that Will would know that he really did care. And since tomorrow they were probably all going to their deaths, he thought he might need to say it now.

Scarlett had twisted around to face him. "Yeah?" he inquired after nothing had come from the other.

Robin couldn't say anything to save his life. Not anything deep and meaningful, because it all sounded so fake and insincere when compared to the great wrongs he had done Will. But he had to say something

"I'm glad you're my brother." Locksley immediately walked away. It was all he could think of to say.

"I'm glad too," he murmured. Will lay back down, his hands cradling his head as he gazed up at the stars. _You hear that, you stupid dream? I'm glad he's my brother, and he's glad. Quit coming back and haunting me. _He knew this was stupid and crazy, but after years of its continued recurrence he felt he had to tell it to shove off. _The past is the past,_ he spoke once more to the dreams that had plagued him since the day the two Locksley's had thrown him out of their castle. _You can't bother me anymore. Robin's my brother, and he's here to stay. _

Scarlett sighed, closed his eyes, and, knowing he wouldn't dream anymore this night, he drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow promised to be a big day.

---

---

Sorry about the long stretch between updates, I kind of needed to catch my breath. Well, I'm not too happy with this chapter, but at least it's an update. Please review (I need all the encouragement I can get), and I hope to have the next chapter up within the next two weeks. Uhh, make it two-three weeks. But I promise that that one will have some action in it. Anway, thanks for reading, please please review, and have a great day!


	20. Chapter 20

It was a quiet group that set out that morning. The Friar and Azeem drove the cart full of barrels of Azeem's concoctions. The others could have ridden on the wagon, but for some reason they all preferred to walk. Perhaps they wanted to perfect their roles and riding in the cart was not a part of their individual disguise and so they wouldn't allow themselves the luxury. Or maybe they just wanted to work off some of the nervous energy that was filling up in each of them.

When they reached the edge of the forest they came to a halt. Here was where they all parted: they would be a mighty conspicuous bunch otherwise. Now was the time when one of them would be the first to enter through the gates of Nottingham. If he could make it then most likely everyone else could, since he was the one who would most likely be recognized—well, with one exception of course.

"I'll be fine, Robin," Will reassured the now almost overprotective elder brother. Robin clapped him on the shoulder in response and smiled his encouragement, knowing Will didn't want to hear any more from him. The others offered their good lucks and then Will was off. Bull would be next, then Fanny, Robin, and John. Then the Friar and Azeem (disguised in a leper's concealing garments) would come in last, so hopefully none of the soldiers would have time to move the barrels of Azeem's concoction that the two would scatter about.

Will walked and walked. With his wounds bandaged and his mind (relatively) at peace, the trip back to Nottingham seemed much shorter than the one to Sherwood Forest, and in no time at all, he reached the castle. For a second, he stood still, every fiber of his being screaming at him to go back to safety, not to rush back into death's eagerly awaiting jaws. Why would he want to do something that ridiculous? But nevertheless, he was going to do it. They all were. Gathering his courage, Will pulled up his hood and strode through the gates, just an innocent villager wanting some excitement.

"No blades, no bows!"

Scarlett nonchalantly pulled out a dagger and tossed it into the pile. He was allowed on. As he made his way into the village square he breathed a sigh of relief and a quiet word of thanks to Azeem, who had pointed out that even though they weren't allowed to have weapons, not bringing them would only throw unneeded suspicion on them. So before he left, Will had picked up a spare dagger, because there was no way he was giving up his own, no matter how right Azeem was. He had left his back at the camp.

Will was now inside the public square. All that was left now was to wait and pray that the others made it inside. He waited. And waited. Then a Celt appeared—Bull. A few minutes later, and then Fanny made her way through. Will tried not to be conspicuous as he watched her progress out of the corner of his eye. She had made it up to the top of the castle's wall, which had a long and and wide walkway for travel to the tower turrets.

_Come on, hurry up,_ he wanted to scream at Fanny. But instead he waited until finally she pulled up a bundle of firewood over the wall. She sent the rope back over (to get John) and then she turned her attention to the bundle. Now, Will walked casually the few yards it took to get him in position. He slouched against the wall though, so no one would look at him.

With a slight thunk the two swords she dropped imbedded into the ground. He left his position and walked purposefully with his head up. Parallel but from the opposite direction was Bull the Celt. At the same moment, they reached down and plucked one of those swords from the ground and continued on. Will thought it was the longest moment of his life, but the incident had actually taken only a couple of seconds to perform, and it worked perfectly. No one had seen them, he was sure. The weight of the sword felt good resting on his side, and a ripple of anticipation danced through him as he walked closer to the scaffold. He would finally be able to use the skills Azeem had taught him.

Speaking of Azeem, he and the Friar were just leaving the scaffold as Will made his way through the crowd. He saw with satisfaction that they had been able to place one of the barrels up there. So far, everything was going well. And then the drums beat.

They were led out one by one, flung onto the scaffold and the noose loosely tightened around their necks. Three, four, five men now, they were all a footstool away from death. A vague feeling of unease crept through Will as the men filed past him. He wasn't quite sure why until he saw Fanny's boy being shuffled through the gates. Quickly Will ducked his head, hoping they boy wouldn't see him. No such luck.

The moment Wulf's eyes alighted on the other a myriad of angry expressions flitted across his face. Will shook his head, his mouth forming the word no, trying to warn the boy off, but of course Wulf didn't listen to him. The boy leapt onto Will, who tried desperately to back away. But the crowd was too dense and tightly packed. With the crowd throwing off his balance, when Wulf leapt on top of him, he tumbled to the ground.

Instantly the guards were upon them. _No, no! Stupid, stupid boy!_ Will was cursing to himself. He'd gotten them all hanged now.

"What's going on? Bring him here!" the sheriff demanded from above. The guards began to drag him forward. That was when the panic started in. He didn't want to die. He also didn't want to let down any of the others, a quite noble notion, but he dang sure didn't want to die. If he had been left in that rotting dungeon with no hope for mercy or rest and the only way to live was to betray his ideals, sure maybe he would be as willing to face the noose as all the others. But having gotten that taste of freedom and found a plan of escape for all of them, the prospect of dying without even the dignity of a glorious fight was too much to bear. He clawed against the hands swarming around, but they resolutely led him onward to the Sheriff. He was on his knees, his head held up by an unrelenting grip that pulled at the roots of his hair.

"Oh, the turncoat. Did you succeed?"

Uhhhh.

"Well, I found his lair but he was already dead."

"Are you sure? You saw Hood's body?"

Yes, Will, yes, Robin prayed, watching the scene unfold from his hidden spot on top of the wall.

Come on, Will, yes, _yes_, Azeem thought fervently from a similar location.

Say yes, Fanny pleaded.

Yes, just say yes, Will screamed to himself.

"No,"

WHAT! Four minds, including Will's, screamed in unison.

"I-I saw a grave." Did I really just say something _that_ stupid? Come on, Will, you made your whole life a lie, why can't you do this?

"We found this on him." One of the soldiers held up his sword. The sheriff raised an eyebrow questioningly at the turncoat.

Uhhhh.

Will gave a half grin, trying for a look of innocence.

"String him up with the others!"

No! Will struggled but the frenzied crowd lifted him off the ground and carried him up to the platform. Once up there, the hangman grabbed him and dragged him over to be strung up. But there wasn't another noose to be found. Derisive laughter dripped among the crowd at this realization.

"My Lord, it appears there's no more room. I'm afraid that I must respectfully decline!" With that announcement the hangman yanked him by the neck and forced his head down on a barrel, tying him securely around one of Azeem's barrels—the main barrel that was to aid them in their rescue attempt that was rapidly deteriorating into a disaster.

"There's always room for one more!" the hangman sneered after he finished tying the outlaw up.

Will swore to himself. _Can't I just keep my mouth shut?_

The drums once again chanted their dreadful beat, droning for an eternity and then there was silence. Will couldn't see a thing from his position but then he heard the clatter of an overturned stool and a gasp for breath. The voice that choked was young—that meant Wulf.

This fact was confirmed for Will when he heard the frantic cries of John. There were shouts, a twang, and then a thud as something hit the ground. The entire crowd gasped as one. Will tried to twist around to see what had happened, but he couldn't move at all.

"Robin!" he heard Marian cry. An explosion ripped through the castle, throwing chunks of debris everywhere. Azeem had ignited one of the other barrels; boy was it effective. Confusion was rampant everywhere and Will watched proudly and hopefully as Robin swung into view, battling and defeating several soldiers. _That's my brother,_ he thought proudly. And then he felt the cool touch of an extremely sharp blade settle against his neck.

Will drew in a breath. His eyes found Robin's and he thought regretfully of all the times he had missed that he had thought he had gained back. It seemed now they were going to be gone forever. The unjustice of it all made Will angrier than he had ever been in his life, but he couldn't do _anything_! The end was only a few precious seconds away. He kept his eyes on Robin, wanting to say goodbye to the one family member he had. His own gaze was that of futility, but Robin's shone with a desperate determination. Despite himself, Will grew hopeful again, even as he felt the blade lift off his neck. Robin pulled a flaming arrow from a dead soldier's back and took aim. Will closed his eyes as he felt the man behind him shift his weight and bring the blade down.

Thud. The arrow collided and destroyed the man's face. Robin ran to his brother and quickly began to untie him.

"Watch out!" Will yelled. Robin had only just finished untying Scarlett, but instantly he reacted to the warning. He pulled Will away from the barrel just in time to avoid the imbedding of an axe into his skull by another soldier. Robin kicked the soldier, and then Will leapt upon the soldier, letting Robin run to find Marian. He punched the man a solid blow and then he jumped to his feet, ready for a real fight, until he remembered. _And once again, I lost my sword._

* * *

"Robin!" Marian screamed as the Sheriff whisked her away. Robin ran after her, but stopped short as a loud cry pierced the air.

Azeem had been studying the situation and knew the outcome was bleak. Even with the ten additional men, there was absolutely no chance for them to overthrow the sheriff and win the battle for justice for which they had so long been fighting. The only sure way to victory was to get the commoners to rise up with them.

"English! English!" he yelled, satisfied to see the whole square freeze and look up at this strange man. "I am Azeem Edin Bashir Al Bachrim! I am not one of you, but I fight. I fight with Robin Hood! I fight against the tyrant who holds you under his boot! If you want to be free men, then you must fight! Join us now! Join Robin Hood!"

The people were listening to him. Despite his ancestry as a cursed Moor, the common English heard the truth in his words and responded with equal and heartfelt honesty of their own. As the promise of a new life, a life of freedom, entered their thoughts, cries echoed around the square. Everywhere, the people were rising up and grabbing whatever they could as weapons. A mass of people joined Robin and Will at the gate. They tried to pull the gate up, but it would take too long and Marian was in danger **_now_**. Robin shoved his way out of the crowd. As he looked desperately around, his eyes alighted on something and a surge of hope went through him. Robin yelled for his followers to come help him. Will joined the men as they pushed the deadly instrument that had just a few days ago been used—with great effectiveness—against them. Robin jumped up on the pad that had thrown the balls of flame that had wiped out their village. Azeem sheathed his sword and claimed his own seat.

"Is she worth it?" Azeem asked.

"Worth dying for?" Robin smiled and nodded; Will had no idea what they were talking about, but it wasn't his business to know. His business was

"Will!" Robin yelled. Instantly, Will clamped down on the lever. The seat was propelled forward, fantastically and powerfully quick, and Robin and Azeem flew into the air, over the wall, and safely—albeit clumsily—in a pile of hay. Will shook his head in disbelief and stood dumbfounded for an instant but he had another job to do. He swallowed hard. Now he would have to use that seat and fly into the sky, something he really wasn't looking forward to doing.

Just then a roar of triumph filled the square. Turning, Will saw the commoners had succeeded in pulling the gate up. _Hallelujah_. He ran through all those swarming their way into the castle, and entered the castle with hardly any opposition. Which was good, he suddenly remembered, because he still didn't have a sword. He swiveled around, and was grateful to see a Celt dispensing with one of Nottingham's soldiers.

"Bull!" he shouted. Bull heard him and began to meet the other, but then he stayed where he was when he saw Scarlett gesturing him to do so. The other rushed over, grabbed the sword of the fallen soldier, and then straightened.

"Thanks," he murmured just before he tore off again. He ran through the castle, searching desperately for Noah, fear aiding his feet to fly faster than he had ever gone before. The Sheriff couldn't have killed the children, all those little children, he couldn't have. He just couldn't have.

"Noah!" Will yelled at the top of his lungs. There was no reply.

"Noah!" He raced through the castle. When he reached a stairway he bolted up to the second level.

"Noah!" he cried again, racing down the halls and banging on the doors. Come on, kid, answer me! At that moment, a cry sounded. Will ran in the direction of the voice, the adrenaline pumping even faster as he knew he was close.

He opened his mouth to call out again, but just then a soldier rushed at him, sword held high. Will barely had time to pull out his own before the man was on him. They clashed and clanged for several deadly moments, but the other wasn't that good. He wasn't all that good. He wasn't—Will frowned—all that—ow! Will winced as the other's blade nicked skin. Not good. Time to end this, Will.

With all his strength and in one smooth motion, he knocked the other's sword aside and sliced him across the belly, just as Azeem had taught him so many months ago. Quickly he finished the soldier off. He stepped around the fallen body, panting heavily as he caught his breath. That had been a little to close for comfort.

"Hello? Help us!" a voice shouted, muffled, though, by the heavy oak door. Will ran to the door, where the cry had issued, found it locked, and rushed back to the dead guard. He removed the keys, and then struggled to fit them in the lock. Finally one of them slipped in, and Will pushed the door open to see—

A little girl. Scarlett visibly deflated at not seeing the person he had wanted desperately to see, but then he squared his shoulders. He should help this little girl too. Noah was still alive somewhere, he told himself. He stepped inside.

And fell to his knees as something crashed into his shoulder.

"Ahh!" he gasped at both the pain in his shoulder and the wounds across his stomach as they were stretched beyond their limits. He sprung up as fast as he could, his hand pulling out his sword as he turned to face his attacker. Or really, his attackers. The three little boys had hopped onto each others' shoulders, the two other girls steadying them, with Noah at the top of the human ladder with a chair above his head. He had just been walloped by a bunch of kids. The bunch of kids he was trying to rescue.

"Noah…" Will muttered.

"Sorry, Will."

* * *

I am so sorry it took me this long to update. I have no excuse, it was just plain laziness and I'm awful sorry, please forgive me. And please don't let this stop you from reviewing! Thank y'all all for your patience with me, you're wonderful! 


	21. Chapter 21

Will stepped away from the right-now-very-confining camp and into one of the wild havens inside Sherwood. He basked in the warm sunlight that found its way somehow from the canopy of trees to rest on the forest floor. As he stood there, the sound of footsteps made him turn around, and a delightful and mischievous smile appeared when he saw who it was. He had been waiting for this.

"Behold!" Will stepped back and froze in shock, his eyes widening in mock awe. "Azeem Edin ala babba yadda yadda!" He fluttered his arm about and ended with a theatrical bow.

"Ha, ha." Azeem walked up. "Your wit is most amusing, Will Scarlett."

"I think so," he agreed cheerfully. "Nice speech by the way," he added, referring to Azeem's actually rather helpful speech at Nottingham castle.

"Oh, be quiet."

"What are you doing out here?"

"Same thing you're doing—hiding out from the women."

"You think they'll find us?"

"I hope not."

Will scanned around, "Have you seen Robin anywhere?"

Azeem caught the scent of payback in that question, and, holding back a smile, he answered, all innocence, "No, I-I s-saw a-a grave."

Scarlett's face turned just a shade lighter than his name.

---

The two had been hiding out for a while when they both heard the crunching of leaves as someone walked towards them. As they turned to see who it was, Robin paused in the shadows provided by the trees.

After a moment, Will asked, "You going to hide there all day?"

Robin took a deep breath and then he walked into the light. Will remained stoic as he examined his elder brother—hair neatly combed out, a brand-new shirt, a clean-shaven face, there was no dirt or grime anywhere to be found on him. He looked good.

"Well?" Robin asked when Will hadn't said anything, "How do I look?"

He shrugged. "Clean."

"Thanks, I was hoping for a little better than that," Robin muttered; Will grinned devilishly.

"There was a rich man from Nottingham," he crooned, laughing as he ducked out of the way of Robin's blow.

"Who tried to cross a river," Azeem joined in the fun. Robin shot him a death glare even as he chased after Will, who had circled around Azeem.

"But what a dope, right?" John grinned as he walked up to the group.

"Did he say that rhyme every time he tripped a guy in the river?" Locksley cried in exasperation, as that day's beginning humiliation flashed through his mind, no matter that he won in the end.

"Nah, that was the first time we ever heard him sing that," John defended. Robin snorted in disbelief.

"What? It's true!" Will protested at the look on Robin's face.

"You can not stand there and tell me you made that up on the spot," Robin crossed his arms, waiting for a denial he knew couldn't possibly come.

"No, I didn't make it up on the spot, but I never said I did," Will snapped back. "It took me two days to make it up, and then I practiced it for three, but that time was the _first_ time I ever let anyone hear it, so there." At a younger stage in life, that remark would have been accompanied by the proverbial sibling sticking-out-of-the-tongue. But these brothers were older and therefore _so_ above such childish antics.

"It took you…_two_ days?" Azeem asked.

John grinned. "All right, if you three can stop your bickering for one moment, I have some messages from Fanny and Marian." The three groaned in unison (Fanny and Marian were in charge of all wedding preparations, which did not bode well for them). "Will, Fanny put you in charge of our children—Wulf on down. Make sure they do not touch anything remotely resembling dirt while they are in their good clothes."

"So I'll need to get Azeem to find a way for them to walk on air?"

John ignored the sarcasm. "And Marian instructed you, Azeem, to make certain that the Friar does not get drunk until after the wedding."

"**What?!"**

"Have fun," Robin grinned.

"And Robin," here Locksley groaned and the others grinned in triumph, "Marian wants to make sure that you stay clean and well-groomed, and that you do not bring your bow and arrows to the wedding. I repeat do not, under any and all circumstances, wear them. 'It is a wedding ceremony, not an archery tournament. Leave them at home,'" John inflected to just the right level of a lecturing wife—he having plenty of experience dealing with that department.

"Well, that's it," John finished up and turned to leave.

"What? That's it? That's all Robin has to do?" Scarlett asked, incredulous.

"He just has to stay clean and not bring weapons to the wedding?" Azeem continued Will's complaints.

"Aww, grow up will you two? When it's your wedding day, you can just stand around and stay clean. But it's not, and you can't," John admonished, "and besides, you've been hiding out here all day, it's about time you did some work."

"Hiding? We haven't been hiding, have we, Azeem?"

"Only if the definition of hiding is to stand and talk with a good friend we haven't," the painted man replied very innocently.

"Out of sight of the women?" John accused.

"Were we out of sight of the women? I didn't notice, Azeem, did you?"

---

"Wulf, Wulf, you put that down! Put that down you hear me? Sarah, you stop it too! Get your little brother out of the dirt, I said somebody get that boy out of the dirt!"

Robin watched in amusement as Scarlett attempted to control seven of Fanny's children, and several of other people's children. Attempted was the key word. All the children seemed to intuitively know that Will's job was to keep them clean and away from dirt, so instantly, a dirt war had begun.

"You having a good time?" Robin politely asked as he walked by. Despite the children present, Will told him in no uncertain terms to be quiet.

As Robin turned to go away, though, Will called out quickly, "I _could_ use some help."

"I'm sorry, I'm under orders, you know," Robin shrugged the request off, "but look at the bright side."

"What bright side?" Will asked irritably as he grabbed Sarah's hand and smacked it until the clod of dirt she had been about to heave to her older brother fell to the ground.

"Well, the best thing is, you don't have to deal with Fanny's baby." (None of the women trusted Will with such a little, fragile thing.) "And then after that, you don't have to worry about any Nottingham soldier chasing after you, there are no guards ready to tear you to pieces, and no evil Sheriff about to string you up. So what do you have to complain about? Some little kids not listening to you?"

"More like beating me up," Will corrected as one of Wulf's dirt clods, intended for Sarah, smacked him on the cheek.

"Oh, come on, Will, you know what real children beating you up is like, and this is nothing like that," Noah teased as he picked up some dirt of his own and hurled it at Wulf.

"'Children beating you up?' I haven't heard this story," Robin exclaimed.

"And he never is going to, is he Noah?" Will waved a finger threateningly in the air.

---

A while later, Will and Robin were alone, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Everyone else was already there, but Robin was supposed to make an entrance, but he didn't want to make it alone. The man who could face down six soldiers at once without batting an eye was scared stiff when it came to walking in front of a crowd to just say a couple of words and kiss a girl. Locksley was strange that way.

"So, you're getting married," Will stated as Robin paced agitatedly to and fro with repeated mutterings of "can't they get on with it," and "it's not like I need to make an entrance, they've all seen me before" and even "and they've all heard my voice so I don't really need to say anything."

"So, _you're_ getting married," he repeated. When Robin didn't seem to hear him, he cheerfully tried again.

"So you're _getting_ married." Still no response.

"So, you're getting—"

"Will."

"Just making sure you were listening."

"I am, so could you please stop?"

"Oh, yes, sir." Scarlett saluted.

"Listen, Will, I didn't mean—,"

"Robin. Relax," Will enunciated each syllable, trying to get the words into the man's fool head. "You're just getting married with a couple of friends watching. No one important is going to be there. Now-calm-down."

Locksley breathed in and out, and gradually began to calm down. "Thanks."

"What are brothers for?" he philosophized. "What?" Will asked as an expression flitted acros Robin's face.

"Oh, well, I guess it's just still strange to me," he replied, "I've got a brother." He stated the last as if he were talking to himself, and hearing the sentence for the first time.

"Yeah," Will agreed softly. The two were silent.

"And now you're about to have a wife," Scarlett added brightly, lightening the mood, as he saw John waving them on. "Looks like it's time to go."

"Yeah," Robin muttered, not moving. He heaved a sigh, "Let's go." He looked to the heavens, "Lord, don't let me make a fool out of myself."

"Robin, you can't make a fool out of yourself. All you had to do was memorize a couple of little vows. How hard can that be?"

Locksley's eyes opened very wide, and he sputtered, "**_Memorize?_** I had to memorize something!?!"

"Whoah, Robin, kidding, kidding." Will braced one hand on each of Robin's shoulders and proceeded to bring Robin back down to the calm state he had managed to get him to before his little joke. "You don't have to memorize. The friar is going to tell you what to say. You are going to be fine."

Robin breathed again. "That wasn't funny."

"It was a little funny."

The other was about to respond when Will ordered, "Go get married."

The two brothers then walked off to the clearing set aside for this special event, the beautiful autumn leaves falling around them as they journeyed through the Sherwood. Months ago, they wouldn't be as close as ten yards to each other. But today they walked side by side, each one teasing or reassuring the other by turn. No more were they the bitter rivals, the barely allies, no more was it brother against brother. Today they walked side by side, as they always should have done.

The End.

Well, guys, that's the end. Thank y'all for staying with this story, and a million thanks to all those who have reviewed, y'all are wonderful. I hope you found this story worth the time it took to read, and especially worth all the long weeks that came between each update. Thanks to those who put this story on favorites, thanks to those who put it on their alerts, and thank you to those who just came across it when they came across it. And now I will leave you with my final plea: can anyone guess it? That's right, please review! To all my faithful reviewers—please review once more! To all those who have never reviewed, please review now. Even if you just skimmed through this story, please still leave me a note (a one word note even) saying that you skimmed through the story. And if you happen to come across this story, months, years later, do not let _that_ stop you from reviewing. I will love reviews whenever I get them!

Thank y'all again for taking the time to read this. Have a great day!

--YLJedi


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